


The Sweet Spot

by ShadowBlazer



Series: AU Collection [1]
Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkwardness, Crack Treated Seriously, F/F, Fluff, Humor, Why does this crack fic have a plot?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:49:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 30,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28865820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowBlazer/pseuds/ShadowBlazer
Summary: [Bakery AU] Jackie and V open up a bakery instead of taking up Dex’s gig, and V gets a special admirer.
Relationships: Female V & Jackie Welles, Judy Alvarez/Female V
Series: AU Collection [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2162631
Comments: 243
Kudos: 610





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Halifax](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halifax/gifts).



> This is a total crack-ish fic (treated seriously, of course) that I’ve been thinking about. I usually write something goofy after a serious work to blow off steam and reset the creative energy, so I hope you guys enjoy.
> 
> Thank you Halifax for her feedback as always.

It was rough the first couple of months—early waking hours to go bake bread, managing inventory properly, keeping the temperature consistent in the kitchen, maneuvering around each other during prep time, shootouts every other day. 

Fucking Tyger Claws were so damn territorial until Jackie and V presented the proper licenses and credentials to some bound members, and V dropped off the gagged idiots on Wakako’s doorstep while the fixer looked over the shaking recruits with tightly pressed lips. Jackie and V never saw those particular members again, and the Tyger Claws have left them alone since.

When pressed about why Jackie wanted to open up a bakery in the first place, he shrugs. “Misty read my fortune. Said she saw nothing but bad things if we went with DeShawn. Figured I should listen to her at least once, and if she’s wrong, go back to him anyway.”

He said this, but V found him scowling and saying that he felt so unmanly without his guns on him until his first batch of mini cupcakes came out. “Look how tiny they are! So adorable! Imma give Misty this whole thing.”

V rolls her eyes and preps another batch. “You’re supposed to sell them, not hoard them.”

“Ah, we can make another one for the customers. Could you hand me the piping bag with the black icing?”

The weeks blur past as V and Jackie develop a sense of rhythm and familiarity with all the equipments and tasks they need to manage each morning: cutting and weighing out sections of dough to make bread, dumping huge shovels of flour into a commercial mixer in the back, pastries stacked in trays in the sheet pan racks in various stages of completion. White round tubs of different types of flour sitting on the tables, waiting to be used. The gigantic oven that almost takes up a whole wall in width. The huge steel spatula that could double as a shovel for burying a body. Add to that the very specific timing and temperature for preparing pastries and bread, and it’s a wonder V’s head didn’t explode in the first week or so.

Luckily, Jackie took over the kitchen, having grown up cooking beside his mom and more than happy to incorporate some of his own favourite recipes into the menu, though he can be rather stubborn on things. He insists on browning the empanadas at a specific time to get that golden crust, and V rolls her eyes as she paints a coat of egg wash over the dough every morning.

Still, the results are impressive when they open at nine in the morning. Cracking golden surfaces of caramel crème brûlées, the hefty crescents of syn-apple empanadas, cones of fried dough filled with cinnamon sugar, whipped cream, and chocolate shavings—V muses that their confectionery offerings would knock out more teeth than most of the daily firefights in the city combined.

Jackie’s favourite item to bake is, of course, the miniature cupcakes. “Seriously, V, I figured how to make a whole damn variety of them, and they sell like hot cakes!” He opens the sliding door to the glass cabinets to put in a new batch next to the actual hot cakes. “Think of it. No firefights, no brawls to the death.”

Yeah, V misses mercenary work too sometimes.

“Just remember,” Jackie starts sternly, “do not maim or kill the customers.”

“Relax, Jack. I can play nice.” V smiles at a nearby customer with a goofy grin. He crams a bunch of eddies into the tip jar when she looks at him. “Can flirt too if that brings the tips in.” 

Jackie rolls his eyes. “You do you, chica.” 

Lately, there’s a particular customer that comes everyday at lunch—short green and pink dyed hair, tattoos all around her neck, chest, and arms—that always spends a couple of minutes chatting with Jackie or V whenever she stops by. V notices that while she’s fairly chill and friendly with Jackie, she always seems to perk up when it’s V’s turn on the counter, leaning in with a tilt of her head, eyes finely made up. They usually shoot the shit for a bit like how their day was, how traffic is in Kabuki market, and oh-by-the-way-is-V-seeing-anyone?

The customer has taken to eating her lunch at one of their inside tables, the one closest to the register where V usually stands. It’s rather odd as she glances over very often. 

Jackie makes a comment when he catches V returning a look. “Yo, you checking her out?”

Already did. Kiroshi optics confirmed a two-star bounty on her head for illegal protesting and resisting arrest—making her more wanted than some Maelstrom members V’s met. Still, V has more stars on her own bounty, and the girl is a big tipper, so V’s inclined to look the other way. “She comes around a lot.”

“The chica with the two-toned hair? She keeps looking at you,” Jackie whispers. “Did’ja piss anyone off recently?”

V thinks real hard. “Not since we opened. Maybe she’s just a fan of your syn-zucchini muffins? She keeps ordering them.”

Jackie looks proud. He wipes away a tear. “Mi madre's recipe.”

“Hey, look. Why don’t you go over there and ask if she needs something?”

“Me? I’m not the one she’s got the laser focus on. Aww, wait. She’s got an output. Sorry, V.”

V glances over and spots a blue-haired woman with a face out of the movies walking over to the girl sitting at the table. She leans in close, and they exchange something with two-colour girl shaking her head. 

Frowning, V glances back at Jackie. “Why are you apologizing?”

He sighs, “This is why you’re single.”

Someone clears her throat, and they turn to see the blue-haired woman approaching with a smile like silk. “May I have some water?”

“Sure.” V hops over to a cabinet and pulls out a glass while Jackie screws up his eyes in thought.

“Hey, you’re an actress right? You were in one of the recent Bushido films. What was it again?”

“Bushido XIV.” The woman sighs, “Not one of my better decisions.”

Jackie snaps his fingers. “You’re Evelyn Parker.” He grins and holds out a massive hand. “Jackie Welles, proud owner of The Sweet Spot, and this is V, my business partner.”

V returns to the counter, handing over the water. “Hope that’s enough for you. Let me know if you want more.”

“Oh, it should be, but it’s not for me.” Evelyn smiles, accepting the glass. “Thank you. My friend really needs a drink.”

“Just friends?” Jackie nudges V in the ribs with his elbow, and it’s getting really annoying. “Look at that. You’re in luck.”

“What are you talking about?” V shakes her head. “If that customer needs water, I’m just going to bring a pitcher over. Can’t let her die of thirst.”

Evelyn covers up a snort while Jackie slaps her on the back. “Atta girl. I’ll be rooting for ya.”

V ignores him as she walks around the counter and heads straight for the customer who drops her phone on the table when V approaches, putting the pitcher on the table with a glass. “Here. Can’t let it be said that I didn’t service you.” She winks, and the customer turns red. Oh shit, did that come out wrong? “With a drink, I mean.”

“Thanks. Name’s Judy, by the way.” The other woman clears her throat, briefly glancing away. “I never gave you it.”

V forgot to ask. “Cool, I’m V. You come here often.”

“Yeah, I make sure to pop by on my lunch break.” Judy looks up, pouring herself some water. “Something about this place is pretty charming.”

V puffs up, grinning. “Must be my muffins, huh?”

She has never seen anyone spit out water so fast. Judy coughs, wiping at her mouth, while V fetches her a napkin. “Something...something caught in my throat.” She pounds her chest a couple of times. “Yeah...they’re great.” Judy doesn’t meet her eyes. 

“Well, they’re really Jackie’s mom’s, and—“ V stops when Judy makes a face. “Talk about something else?”

“Please.” Judy massages her throat, coughing still. “Whatcha do before baking?” When V raises an eyebrow, Judy elaborates. “You have scars all over your arms. I doubt you were wrestling a mixer before this.”

V’s quiet before she sighs. “Used to be a merc. Nearly took up a gig with Dexter DeShawn when Jackie and I opened the bakery. We had a third colleague that walked in, saw this place, and walked straight out. Didn’t even give us a chance to explain.” She still misses T-Bug. “So, here I am.”

“Here you are,” Judy agrees. She smiles, and V notices that it’s a pretty look on her. “To my luck at last.”

“What do you mean?” V cocks her head, and Judy’s eyes follow the motion. “Didn’t figure you were such a baked goods fan.”

“S’not those ones I’m interested in.” Judy clears her throat and gestures to the empty seat besides her. “Why don’t you sit if you got a minute?”

V glances over to the counter where Jackie gives her a thumb’s up and Evelyn makes a get-on-with-it motion. “Yeah, looks like I’m not needed for now.”

She seats herself, wondering how much time is left for the dough to rise for her croissants. Damn things are so finicky. “So, what do you do, Miss Judy?”

“Miss?” Judy leans back, smiling, eyes half-lidded. “You’re a charmer, aren’t you? How do you know there isn’t a missus waiting back home?” she teases.

V smirks. “Why would any woman with eyes let someone like you leave the bed?”

Judy stares before looking impressed. Her cheeks colour. “Can’t say you’re wanting for confidence.”

She waves it off, brushing a hand through her hair. “I hear it’s a strength of mine.” And a blind spot if her frequent visits to Vik previously said anything about the...abundance of confidence in situations that warrant none. “Tell me about you though.” She glances over the tattoos along Judy’s arms, gaze staying on the linework of a vivid “13.” “Do you do something artsy?”

“You could say that.” Judy grins. “Best BD editor at Lizzie’s if you ever been.”

V shakes her head. Those chocolate croissants are too demanding of her time to let her visit clubs leisurely. “What kind of BDs?”

“Smut. Pays the bills.” Judy shrugs.

V studies her carefully. “So, what kind do you actually want to work on?”

Judy sits up straighter, brightening. “I have a ton of ideas, but my latest obsession has been with pushing the technology to achieve an emotional experience never felt before. The tech isn’t there to get what I want, so I’m stuck thinking about how to tweak it.”

“Is it possible to craft better tech?”

“Possible, but the editing software would need to match and even with state-of-the-art gear, I’m basically asking it to look in two opposite directions at the same time.”

“Definitely sounds tricky...churro banana bites for your thoughts?”

Judy laughs. “No thanks. Think I’m full.”

“From one tiny muffin? C’mon, I’ll give you something on the house. Just name it. Anything you want.” 

Judy’s eyes flick over V. “Better be careful with what you offer if you’re not serious.”

“Why?” V leans forth, slightly challenging, and she sees Judy’s eyes flicker. “Think I won’t hold up my end?”

Judy looks away, rubbing the back of her nape. She points to the monster cake in the glass display, five tiers of fondant and icing. “You made that?”

“A thing of beauty, I know.” V studies her. Deflecting. “Made an anniversary cake once for a friend. That was...interesting.” Pepe had described the end results looking like a “ripperdoc going mad on a woman.” He did admit it was tasty though. “Not sure if that was my calling.”

“Baking, cake design, or something else?” Judy leans back, arms crossed in a relaxed way. Her eyes dart over V’s face—curious, seeming to observe and soak up all the details in her features.

“Why do you stare at me so much?” V notices Judy jolting, glancing away. She coughs and turns back to V.

“Your face...it’s kind of a work of art in its own right.” 

“You’ve got guts.” V raises an eyebrow. “That was the best pick-up line I’ve heard to date.”

“Only one if it’s not true.” Judy shrugs, but she crosses her arms over her body, looking away with a smile. “I just get the sense you’re something else.”

V smiles. “Little ol’ me? Nah, just a humble baker, a merchant of the ordinary variety. Maybe in another life, I would have…” She shakes her head, changing the topic. “What do you think of this place?”

“It’s nice. A change of pace in the usual Kabuki scene.” Judy studies her, noticing the obvious diversion but not commenting. “Though I gotta admit I thought you’d be shut down in the first weeks. Tyger Claws get territorial about new stalls and shops.”

“Nearly were. Had to pull some strings to get them to see...eye-to-eye, so to say.” V glances around the linoleum floors, the bright green and yellow paint job before she snorts. “Jackie wanted to call it Top Buns. I had to quickly convince him not to, considering this part of the city.”

The corners of Judy’s lips lift. “And The Sweet Spot is better?”

“Why?” V raises an eyebrow. “You don’t think I’m hitting yours?”

Judy’s pupils expand, and V has a moment to admire the colour of the irises—a cross between golden and tawny. A shade of caramel that’s quite difficult to pin down, to describe exactly. She bites her lip in lieu of answering, and there’s a heat to her stare that makes V’s heartbeat drum in her chest. “Oh, you definitely do.” 

V’s ears burn, hearing an underlying husk to Judy’s voice that wasn’t there before. “Uh…” She pedals backwards with her hands, scrabbling on the table. “Do you want another muffin?”

Judy smiles, tilting her head to the side and exposing the long line of her neck. “No thanks. Craving something else.” She sighs, standing up. “Gotta get back to work else Suze will skin me.” Running a hand through her hair, she glances sidelong with that look V can’t quite nail. “See you again soon?”

“You know where to find me.” 

Nodding, Judy heads out, looking back once or twice as she disappears into the crowd around Kabuki market.

V scratches her head as she stands, wondering about the encounter. She picks up the pitcher and the dirty glass before heading back to the front where Evelyn lets out a loud sigh.

Evelyn groans, leaning back on the glass. “So close.”

Jackie bobs his head in commiseration. “I know, chica. I was here too.” He looks at V. “Did you at least get her number?

“No. Why do I need to? Seriously, what are you guys talking about?” V scowls. “Don’t you have something else to do?”

“Other than watching a train wreck, not much right now.” Evelyn shrugs. She pushes off the glass, brushing against V with her dark eyes watching her. “Come visit sometime. Lizzie’s, after 6. Judy wouldn’t mind seeing you.”

V blinks as Evelyn gives a little wave and strides out.

Jackie whistles. “This is a sign, V. God did not call you to a life of nunnery.”

“I’m not—Jack, it takes a lot of work to get this thing off the ground, y’know. Can’t afford to be distracted now.”

“Does it bother you that you’re a fine-looking woman, and, yet, you’re as dateless as a Maelstrom recruit on prom night?” He sighs, slapping his chest. “You got me. You can relax. Go out and find a nice girl. Break your streak of solitude that you guard like a jealous lover.” He thumps V on the shoulder. “Chica, I’m worried about you. I catch you in the back napping sometimes, muttering about sugar and power and women.” 

He steps back. “Go find someone. Get a date and relax. Give the rest of us a break.” He scratches his nose. “Oh, by the way, that pretty lady left an order for a cake and requested for you to deliver it specifically.” 

V eyes him. “Why me?”

“Made an impression on her.” Jackie shrugs and shoulders past her to the kitchen. “Easy gig, V, with a big tip. Just wait till tomorrow when I finish up the cake, yes?” He glances back with an easy smile before disappearing through the double doors.

Something seems off about Jackie, but before V could question it further, a rush of customers come into the bakery and she’s off serving a steady stream of them until closing.

Jackie raises a hand to acknowledge her goodbye without turning around as he stands over a floury lump on the stainless steel table, reaching for his phone to call Misty for some reason.

V shakes her head and heads home to turn in for the night. When she arrives the next morning at 3:30 am, she finds an exhausted Jackie and Misty presenting her with a white box wrapped in a gorgeous red ribbon.

“Finally. Nearly killed us with all that fondant work, but we nailed it, thanks to Misty’s eye for detail.” Jackie grins, handing the package. “Now, go deliver it.”

“At nearly four in the morning?”

“They’ll be open. Trust me.” Jackie winks while Misty sits down in a chair, head dropping before she quickly snaps it back up, eyelids drooping.

“You okay, Misty?” V looks over at her while Misty yawns.

“Yeah, just took a lot of me to figure out how to get those folds right—” Misty closes her mouth when Jackie shoots her a look. “I mean, better get going, V. Can’t keep the customer waiting.”

V narrows her eyes. If it weren’t for the fact that these two are her closest friends, she’d think there was something wrong with the cake like a bomb baked inside. “If there’s some kind of explosive device in this thing, so help me God, you better let me know now.”

Jackie laughs. “The merc can leave the job, but the job doesn’t leave the merc.” He slaps V on the back before turning her around and pushing her out the back doors. “Just a special order with specific instructions. Get it over with, and get our eddies.”

He boots her from the building for the second time in one day, and V is seriously considering reminding him that she technically co-owns their business. Still, a single package shouldn’t take that much time, and if a customer is paying for a special service, she owes it to them to go through with what they ordered. Shrugging, V heads to her car, placing the box carefully beside her before taking off.

The trip is short with lack of traffic in the early morning, leaving the streets blissfully free of pedestrians and vehicles and police warrants. Still, dread creeps down her back in icy tendrils as she pulls up to the bar with its bright purple lettering, grabbing the cake beside her as if in self-defence.

V hates going out unless she absolutely needs to. The overly appreciative light in the bouncers’ eyes when she approaches Lizzie is reason number one why.

“Hey, gorgeous, you looking to dance or join?” the one with the purple twin buns comments, glancing over V once or twice. “Please say it’s the latter. I’m sure we could make room for you.” She winks. “Just tell our boss that Rita sent you.”

V holds up the cake box in one hand. “Delivery for Judy Alvarez.”

Rita frowns, looking over V now with a critical eye. “What do you want her for? What’s in there?”

“A cake from Evelyn Parker.” Seriously, is she really going to get interrogated over this?

Rita rubs her forehead, muttering. “Cake? Why the hell—fuck, is it her birthday?”

The other bouncer jerks her head towards the door. “You can come in, but, remember, we’re watching you.”

V nods, restraining herself from rolling her eyes before pushing her way through the doors. Oh, what she doesn’t miss about merc work.

The interior of the club is cleaner than most places she’s been too with the lights turned down low in shades of purple or blue. Several of the dolls turn their heads as V walks past, their eyes scanning her up and down while smiles curl on their faces. Some call out to her; others walk up to her, brushing against her as V hurries into the back rooms with a terse speech to the bouncer guarding them. She’s never felt like such a piece of meat before.

Shuddering, she pushes through the dressing rooms where more dolls glance her way, and down the stairs to the safety of the empty basement. The air is cool on her face, refreshing after the stifling heat of Kabuki market, and V notes the humming of machinery in the background, like a quiet drone, while the lights are turned down low. 

She follows the path to the only room with doors down there, and off to the side sits the girl from the bakery. She knocks, rapping her knuckles against the cold metal of the doorframe to catch Judy’s attention. “Special delivery.”

Judy is editing something at her desk, gloved fingers whizzing through the air, when she looks up. She stares. “Oh. Wasn’t expecting you.” She coughs, sitting up. “Or anything, really.”

“Guess your friend got you a surprise then.” V steps forward, holding the white cardboard box with one hand, dangling from a red ribbon tied deftly around into a large bow. “Courtesy of Evelyn. Asked me to deliver it directly to you.” 

Raising an eyebrow, Judy accepts the package with both hands. “Why would she get me a cake?”

“Happy birthday?”

Judy snorts. “Not for another six months or so.” 

She opens the box and then quickly shuts it close before going silent for a long moment. “Uh...is this a message or something?”

“Your friend requested it for you.” V tilts her head at the slow flush creeping up Judy’s face. “She asked for a specific cake, and we tailor to the client’s taste.”

Judy runs a hand through her hair. “Fucking Evelyn.” She stands, putting the cake to one side. “She’s dead to me.” She grabs her phone and starts sending a text with a furious expression.

“Why? What’s in the box?” V glances over to the white package, its top slightly open. 

Judy pauses before sending her message. “You delivered a mystery box, and you didn’t take a look inside?” She raises an eyebrow.

V shrugs. “Old habits.” There were some things you did not need to know about as a merc if you knew what was good for you—the info on a data shard a client specifically asks you not to read, the pleading voice out of the back of a locked trunk. “Can I see?”

“Uh...” Judy places a hand on the top of the box, expression flickering before she shrugs and hands it over. “Suit yourself.”

V opens the lid and slams it down faster than Judy did. “I swear I didn’t know.” Oh fuck, is her face going red? “Honest.” She glances back into the box. “It’s a pretty good replica though.”

“Figured you didn’t know.” Judy shifts, crossing her arms as she leans against the desk. They stare awkwardly at each other. 

“Umm...so…” V scrubs her hand through her hair. “Based on that cake, I guess you don’t like dudes?”

Judy raises an eyebrow. “Seriously? Is it not obvious?” She waves a hand down her body. “Don’t think I needed to tell you that I wouldn’t be interested.”

V rubs the back of her neck, feeling sweat on her fingertips. “Uh...I didn’t want to presume?” A pause. “Do you still want it?”

Judy sighs and hands the box back. “Give it to the girls upstairs. Not a fan of sweets.”

V nods, edging backwards toward the door before a thought strikes her. “Wait. You come to the bakery everyday.”

“Uh…” Judy shakes her head. “That’s something else.” She bites her lip when she sees V half out the door. “You...uh...you don’t have to leave. I wanted to ask about your cakes, other than—“ Her eyes flick towards the box.”

“Oh? Need an order fulfilled?”

“No, just wanted to chat.” Judy jerks forward. “Unless you’re busy or something or—”

“Nah, got nowhere urgent to go at this time.” V spots something on Judy’s desk going off. “Is that your boss? Sure they won’t mind?”

“Nope.” Judy reaches behind her and turns it off without looking. “Got all the time in the world for you.” She pauses before glancing away. “If you want.” 

V leans against the doorframe, cake box hanging against her. “Can I just get rid of this first?”

Judy nods and gestures for her to go ahead. V quickly darts upstairs and shoves the box into a surprised girl’s arms in the dressing room before fleeing back downstairs, very much not wanting to explain the story behind the package. “Okay,” she says, arriving back at the workroom. “So...let’s pick a less awkward thing to talk about. What kind of BD are you working on?”

That is not a less awkward topic, but it gets the ball rolling as Judy shows V the tamer stuff she likes to edit in her spare time—something about a charging rhino from a safari tour fifty years ago when they weren’t extinct yet, experiences of someone’s last birthday with their mother before she died. 

“You really like the emotional stuff,” V notes. “You have a real talent for it.”

“Part of the reason why I’m the best BD editor in town.” Judy shrugs. “But lately...I’ve been stuck with where to go, not counting modifying the tech. Nothing seems like a challenge anymore.”

“Shame.” V leans over the back of Judy’s chair, bare forearm brushing Judy’s shoulder. V swears she heard Judy’s breath hitch. “Wanna do something from me sometime? I’m sure I’ll get something interesting soon.”

“Sure. I’m down for that.”

“Nova.” V straightens up. “Jackie always says I get into weird situations, so I might grab something for the memories.” She checks her phone, seeing a text from him that confirms their eddies from Evelyn. “Gotta head back and help open the place.”

She heads out to the doorway, and Judy follows.

“Hey, thanks for hanging with me.” Judy tucks her hands into her pockets, one shoulder leaning against the doorframe. “It’d be nice if we could do it again sometime. Outside of work, I mean.”

“Like before work? After? Help me out here.” 

Judy sighs, “You are so lucky you’re cute.” She pulls herself upright and holds out her phone. “Here. Text me when you want to. For anything. I’d just like to hear from you.”

“Sure.” V frowns at the suddenness of everything, but, hey, a new contact is a new contact is a new contact. “Catch you later, Jude.”

Judy perks slightly. Her voice softens. “Yeah. Hope so, V.”

V heads back upstairs where a gaggle of dancers latch themselves onto her, misunderstanding the cake gift as a signal that V would like to engage their ...uh...services. After running out the doors, V hops in her car and speeds off, rubbing off lipstick marks from her cheeks and neck. Leaning back in her seat as the sun starts to peek over the edges of the building above her, V muses that while the day has been weird so far, it hasn’t been a total loss.

Jackie looks up, grinning when she enters the kitchen from the back door. “How’d it go?”

V hangs up her jacket. “Good. Got another business contact.”

“Business contact?” Jackie stands. “Oh, V. Please don’t tell me that’s what you called her.” 

“I also called her by name. Why are you acting so weird all of a sudden?”

“You sweet, dense fool.” Jackie shakes his head. He hangs an arm over V’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. You got the number. Now, Ol’ Jack will show you how to woo a lady. I just can’t stand to see you not getting the hint when someone’s into you, amiga. It hurts me.”

“Into--what?” V drops her phone. “Oh. OH.”

Jackie sighs. “Oye, chica.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> V realizes how she came off last time, and now she's avoiding Judy. This does not work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe my first multi-chaptered Cyberpunk fic is a crack fic. Anyway, I had fun writing this, so I hope you guys enjoy reading this.
> 
> Thanks to Halifax for her wonderful proofreading and feedback as always. You make a great sounding board.

Three days later after the Lizzie’s incident, and V still hasn’t reached out to Judy.

Jackie gives V a look when she ducks behind the counter as someone with multi-coloured hair walks by the windows. “Chica, when a woman gives you her number, she expects you to call her.”

“I can’t. God, I must have looked like a moron missing all those cues.”

Jackie opens his mouth to reply before shrugging. “I’m sure she won’t hold it against you.”

V groans, standing. “And besides, I have all those deliveries to make now.” 

After Evelyn’s request, the bakery started getting more orders of cakes of a discrete and non-discrete nature. It doesn’t help that Evelyn posted a half-eaten version of said confection on Lizzie’s website, citing their bakery and causing sky-high orders. V doesn’t know half the time what she’s dropping off, but she’s slightly disturbed by how often she hears Jackie giggling from the kitchen.

“We might have to hire another driver if these orders keep coming in.” V checks the company email again, spotting another half dozen requests. “And another baker.”

“If we can get someone to cover you, then I can rope you back into the kitchen.” Jackie sighs, “And you can finally stop ghosting that poor girl.”

“I am not ghosting—” Is she? “—I’m busy. With deliveries.”

Jackies waves her comment off as he hands her a couple of cake boxes, including one to deliver to a trailer park on the east side of town. “Depressed kid is having a birthday cake, and his uncle wanted to surprise him. Says to be there in an hour.” 

“I’ll be fine, short of an accident.” V grabs the boxes from him and heads out. “See ya, Jack.” 

“V. That girl still comes everyday looking for you. You’re doing her a real disservice by not speaking to her.”

V pauses at the door. “I know. I’ll...get to it when I come back.” 

She leaves without another word, getting into her car and places the cakes carefully beside her on the floor in case she turns too sharply.

V looks at her phone before tucking it back into her pocket, already pulling out to join traffic. The first box goes to someone in the Maelstrom gang—an Ellis who gets a treat for all of his loyalty to his boss Brick. The second one goes to a pastor in Watson as a surprise for his young son. The last one has V gunning mindlessly along the street, since it’s the one farthest away, and V’s mind wanders to her phone.

It has been a while, and it’s starting to seem rude, especially to Judy who has been pretty chill. What should V say? Something about how she’s sorry she’s the densest thing possible besides a black hole or maybe that she doesn’t pick up on cues that aren’t combat-related?

V frowns as she spots a car parked way too close to the corner, blocking part of her line of sight as she goes to make a right turn. There are always idiots who make it hard for others to drive safely—

A fucking Jeep smashes into the right side of her engine, sending V’s world spinning as the car skids to a stop in the middle of an empty street. When her vision manages to stop whirling, V checks on the last cake, exhaling when she sees it still safely nestled beneath her passenger side seat.

She glances up to see the other driver starting to get out of their car. V’s jaw tenses as she climbs out of her own.

“What the fuck? Did you not see the turn signal?” V storms out, popping the hood where thick blasts of black smoke jet upwards. She can’t tell what’s on fire, so she concludes her engine is wrecked. “Were you being gunned down or something?”

The other driver hops out—a woman with a dreadlock updo. “Shit, I didn’t see you! Sorry! Fucking streets are paved with butter or something.” She stops in front of V’s smoking car. “Is it salvageable?”

V eyes her. “What’s your name?”

“Panam.”

“Fuck you, Panam.”

“Fair.” Panam walks around the wreck, examining the dent in the right side. “I can pitch in for repairs.”

V scowls before relaxing. “Thanks. Much appreciated.” She sighs, rubbing her forehead before opening the driver door where the white box sits immaculately on the car floor. Fucking cake is immune to car crashes. “I still got to deliver this thing.”

“Delivery?”

V sighs, reaching into her pocket and handing over one of the many business cards Jackie had printed out for them. “I’m V. Co-owner of The Sweet Spot in Kabuki Market. We specialize in sweets and customizable cakes. Present this card for 10% off of your next purchase. Also, still fuck you.”

“Oh.” Panam perks up. “Are you guys looking for drivers? I’m...uh...open for gigs if you are.”

“You think we’re going to hire you after this?” V waves a hand at her smashed vehicle.

Panam raises an eyebrow. “Do you have a choice if you have orders and no car?”

V feels something throb in her temple. She exhales slowly, counting to ten. Biting her tongue, she glances between the cake and the other driver before she comes to a decision. “Get me and this cake over to the east side of Night City in twenty minutes, and I’ll consider it.”

V almost gets whiplash from Panam’s turns alone. “Holy shit, how fast can this thing go?”

Panam grins, all wicked teeth. “Wanna see?”

V unwisely says yes.

Cars don’t get sideswiped when Panam drives. Cars split away when Panam cuts right through, like the parting of the Red-fucking-Sea, the scattering of thugs when their boss rolls around. 

Drivers take one look at the Thornton coming down on them like the wrath of a megacorp and very quickly pull to one side. It helps that Panam drives like she doesn’t care if they don’t get out of her way.

When they hit the highway in less than ten minutes, V can’t hide how impressed she feels, and Panam catches it based on the smirk spreading on her face.

“Whatever. You’re still paying for my car repairs.” V rolls her eyes and pulls out her phone, sending a message to her mechanic before chewing on her lip as she scrolls down to Judy’s name. “Can I ask you a relationship question?”

“Uh...I met you like a few minutes ago, but sure. Go ahead.”

“Okay, so—“ V pauses, considering briefly what she’s doing before continuing on. “—there’s a girl whose number I got, and I just realized she was into me more than I thought. Now that I look back on it, it’s so mad obvious that I feel like an idiot, and I feel like I should say something to bring it up. Or am I overthinking things?”

Panam shrugs. “I dunno, but if I were her, I wouldn’t be waiting on your ass forever.”

“Great. Thanks.” V types out a line then deletes it before she repeats that several times. She stares blankly at her phone screen. Why is talking to women so hard?

“Hey, V—can I call you V? Anyway, if she was willing to put up with your dumb shit enough to give you her number, I doubt that anything you say will repel her at this point.” Panam shrugs. “So, just say something. Worst case scenario, you’re no worse off in terms of dates than you were before.”

That sounds remarkably sensible. “That’s not a bad idea. Than—“

“Hey, is this the place?”

V glances up, spotting the sign welcoming them to the trailer park. “Yup.” She sighs and puts her phone away for later.

Panam wrinkles her nose as she glances around as she drives past it, slowing to a stop. “Is this what the city is about?”

“Not from around here?” V shrugs. “A customer is a customer.”

She climbs out of Panam’s car and trots down the dirt road towards a trailer at the end. Hanging a right, she comes upon what looks like a birthday party involving a miserable teen boy and his younger siblings. “Delivery for a River Ward?”

A massive man answers from the barbeque, back turned to her. “Finally. Was wondering if the cake was ever going to show up.”

“We had a traffic incident on the way.” V heads over to him and deposits the box on the nearby table. “Apologies about the delay.”

“Hmm...better be one hell of a cake based on the price alone—“ River turns and stops, staring. “Uh...who are you?”

“V. Co-owner of The Sweet Spot.” She holds out her hand. “Nice to meetcha.” 

River glances down at her palm, still frozen, when a woman comes out of the house, looks over, and sighs. She comes up and elbows the man out of the way. “I’m Joss. Thanks for getting this to us on time. Sorry about my idiot brother. He gets like that around pretty ladies.”

River snaps back into focus. He clears his throat and shakes V’s hand. “Ignore her. You...just weren’t what I was expecting. Not that it’s a bad thing. I mean...uh...can I just pay you?”

V raises an eyebrow at the weird exchange before nodding. She grabs the eddies when River takes a break from the barbeque, walking her to the car. “So...you been in the industry long?”

“Relative newcomer. It’s been an interesting change of pace from my last job.” V shrugs, turning around the corner and waving at Panam who is miraculously still there. 

“Right, right.” River nods rapidly. “Say, I have a couple of buddies in the precinct whose birthdays are coming up. Could I call you directly and ask for some cakes whenever the time comes?”

V gives him a strange look. “Sure.” She hands a business card to a grinning River before bidding him goodbye and climbing into her car.

Panam pulls out of the driveway, smirking as River waves to them as they leave. “Who’s that? He’s pretty cute.”

“A client.” A weird one. “You can have him if you’d like.”

“No thanks. Don’t think I’m his type.” Panam glances over. “Is he yours? Or do you prefer the girl you still haven’t got the balls to text yet?”

“Uh…” V can’t handle this question. “He’s a customer. That’s all I’ll say about it.”

“Right. So, where to now?”

“Back to the bakery. We can discuss your driving there with my partner.”

Panam studies her before breaking out into a grin. “Does that mean I got the job?”

V rolls her eyes. “It means we may need a temporary driver while I get my car fixed.”

Panam whoops. “I assure you I come with a stunning resume of completed gigs.”

“One delivery does not make a list.” V snorts. “And I wouldn’t name driving as one of your accomplishments.”

“Like you’re one to talk.”

“I didn’t destroy your car.”

Panam snorts. “Because you couldn’t.”

V opens her mouth to argue when a thought hits her. “Wait, you’re a merc, aren’t you? Why aren’t you taking gigs from fixers?”

“Uh…” Panam stares at her steering wheel. “Because I might have pissed off one of the biggest ones in Night City.”

V raises an eyebrow. “Rogue?”

“Rogue.”

“My sympathies,” V sighs. “What did you do?”

They make it all the way back to the bakery with Panam regaling V with her tale of theft, betrayal, and murder, ending up with leaving her former partner a bullet-ridden husk on a dirty cave floor. “Not that it’ll happen to you,” Panam says quickly to assure her. “As long as you don’t backstab me or take my car.”

“Duly noted.” V gets out when Panam finishes pulling up in front of the closed shop. “C’mon, I’ll introduce you to Jackie. He should be in the back.”

V leads them through the back door to the kitchen where she sees Jackie preparing some dough for tomorrow’s morning prep. “Hey Jack, got someone you should meet.”

After V’s introductions and brief story, Jackie glances at Panam before looping an arm around V’s shoulders. “Excuse us for one sec.” He hustles her over to a corner of the room before whispering, “Chica, we’re partners, right? We make hiring decisions together.”

“What choice do we have? My car’s out for repairs, and we have orders to fill. Also, she drives like a motherfucking demon, so at least she can handle traffic.”

Jackie groans, “We’re going to have to get a payroll department. And accounting! Where are we going to find an accountant in Night City?”

In the end, Jackie ends up begging Misty to help come over to do payroll like she does for Vik’s clinic before also sending a text to his mother, just in case. They test drive Panam for a couple of days, and she gets the cakes delivered on time with only a fraction of the police warrants issued that V gets, which V is sure isn’t possible with the way Panam drives.

Another week passes, and V feels like she’s forgotten to do something very important. Something to do with messaging someone. But hey, she got her car back, all fixed with just the slightest of dents, and since Panam has been handling deliveries, V's been able to help Jackie out with the orders.

V remembers what it is when she returns from the washroom and realizes that Jackie texted Judy on V’s phone. “Why, Jackie?”

“Chica, I am sick of watching you dance around your phone like a damn bomb. I put you both out of your misery.”

“I do not use that many sad faces!”

“But how else would she know you’re sorry?”

“Urgh. Jackie, you are not allowed to touch my phone ever again.” V glances down at her phone, paling. “ Oh fuck, she texted back. She’s coming over.”

Jackie catches V as she tries to run into the kitchen, rolling his eyes before planting her right in front of the cash register. “Can’t avoid the music forever.”

“Jack...I thought you were my friend…”

“Amiga, real friends stab each other in the front, not the back.” Jackie sternly points at the register. “Now, stay there until she comes.”

It doesn’t take long.

Judy appears shortly afterwards, leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed. “There you are. Thought you were avoiding me.”

V rubs the back of her nape. “Sorry. Busy with work.”

“For two weeks?”

“Increased orders and deliveries.” V tries to smile. It falters at the sharp look on Judy’s face. Jackie glances between them before whistling casually and abandoning V by heading into the kitchen. Bastard.

“So...V.”

“Judy.” V eyes the window besides her, considering jumping out. “I wasn’t...I didn’t want to—“

Judy sighs. She glances down. “If you weren’t interested, you could have just said something. I can take a no.” Peering upwards, she smiles, but it wavers. “Friends?”

V feels something catch in her throat at Judy’s expression. “Hey, no. Let’s...let’s do this over.” She holds out her hand. “I’m V, co-owner of this bakery and a fucking brick wall when it comes to picking up people’s interest in me.”

Judy eyes her hand before stepping forward to shake it. “Judy. I like to stare hopelessly at brick walls.”

“Good. It makes both of us liable.” V flashes a smile before growing serious. “I don’t—I’m not sure how to…” She gestures between the two of them. “...do this. I can only shoot people, drive, and bake cakes. And even the second one is questionable.” She exhales. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to avoid you. I’m just kind of useless at this whole thing.”

“Ah.” Understanding lights in Judy’s eyes. “Then, is it all right if I ask you out?”

“Uh…” V hears a thump from the kitchen behind her as well as Jackie’s hiss of “Do it! Accept!” She shifts, feeling moisture bead down the back of her neck. “Y-yeah, that’d be great.”

“Good. Good.” Judy nods, taking a step back and nodding absent-mindedly. “I’ll...uh...I’ll call you tonight. We’ll think of something then.” She nearly stumbles over her feet as she leaves, waving to V with a mad grin on her face.

V sighs, nearly sinking into the counter when the kitchen doors bang open behind her.

“Finally, V. I was starting to think we’d have to move you into an old maid’s home.”

“Shut up, Jackie.” V rests her head in her hands. “Oh shit, I have a date. What do I do?”

“Relax. I got your back. Give you all my tips on how to woo a lady.” Jackie winks. “Since that’s over, let’s talk business.”

Really, Jackie?

He grins. “I got a great idea, chica. I will be head of...uh...business operations, and you’ll be head of recruitment.”

“What?” V whirls around. “I’m HR?”

“Yeah, you got a talent for finding good partners.” Jackie jerks his thumb towards Panam snoozing in the makeshift cot at the back. “Maybe we should expand our business, eh?”

When V stares at him, he jostles her shoulder. “Relax. What could possibly go wrong?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am aware that the way I ended requires another chapter to follow, and another one will come.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> V finally gets to take Judy out on a date. If only business didn’t catch up to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit more serious than the last two chapters due to the focus of the story, though I hope you still enjoy it.
> 
> Thanks for Halifax for her proofreading and help with everything.

“Dios mío, V. Have you seen the news?” Jackie stumbles into the storefront from the kitchen, looking alarmed. “The Tyger Claws opened up a rival bakery across from us.”

V glances up from the till where she’s counting eddies. “What’s it called?”

“Crummiest Cakes.”

She stops counting. “Seriously?”

“Chica, I don’t think you understand how serious this is. It’s probably a front for some drug trafficking. You need to hire some mercs or something to take them down.”

V rolls her eyes. “We are mercs. You, me, and Panam.”

“Yeah, but we’re retired! We’re humble bakers, and it’s going to be bad for our rep if we’re seen gunning down a competitor.”

...but that’s how business is done in Night City? “Hear me out. This might sound crazy, but we could just not get caught.”

Jackie snorts. “With your stealth capabilities?”

“Them’s fighting words.” 

“Seriously, V. At least hire some security or something. Who knows what those gangoons will do to wipe us out? Fucking Tyger Claws.”

She sighs. How the hell is she going to do that? Maybe she’ll get some ads or something. Glancing up, she nearly drops her wad of eddies when she sees a familiar-looking woman stepping into the shop, an impressive scowl on her face.

Jackie walks forth to greet her, arms out. “You came! Thanks for helping with the accounting.”

Mama Welles gives him a big hug before she examines the top of their counter, clucking her tongue. “You guys don’t have enough alcohol here.”

“It’s a bakery, Ma!”

“No excuse for not even having a bottle of Centzon for guests!” Mama Welles points to Jackie’s paint job on the interior walls. “And the decor!’

She turns to V, who cowers behind the counter. “And you haven’t talked to me in weeks. Too busy being a big shot baker that you can’t afford a few minutes to call?”

“Sorry, Mama Welles. Things have been really busy here, and I—“

“Ma, V’s got a date. With a nice Hispanic chica.”

“She does?” Mama Welles’s scowl instantly turns into a smile. “Thank God, V. I thought you would die alone. When do I get to meet her? Does she like enmoladas?”

“I don’t know. We haven’t gone on a date yet.”

“Then, why are you still here? Jackie, give her the day off so she can go reel in this girl. I know her well enough to know that not a lot of people would put up with her shit. Oh, V, you’ll need to change first.”

V glances down. “What’s wrong with my clothes?”

“It looks like you pulled them off of a corpse in a back alley somewhere and didn’t clean them first.” Mama Welles’ nose wrinkles. “What are you even wearing together half the time? Oh, and another thing, your driving—“

“Now, now. Let V figure this out herself.” Jackie soothes his mother, winking at V and ushering her into the kitchen, the Spanish scolding muffled behind the double doors.

V looks back down at her clothes. Are they really that mismatched?

She hears the click of the door opening and turns to see yet another familiar person in her shop, looking nervous as he clears his throat. “Oh, you’re that guy from the trailer park. Uh...River, right?”

“You got it.” He smiles, slightly jittery. “Just thought I’d drop by while I was in the neighbourhood. Just wrapping up a normal murder investigation when I remembered your shop was over here. Thought I should check it out in person. I’m a cop, by the way.” 

V didn’t ask for a life story but sure. “So, what do you think?”

“It’s nice. Was thinking I could grab the boys a couple of pastries.” He glances at the glass displays. “Might have to get them some next time. Gotta try these guys out first myself.” He looks up, smiling. “Randy really liked your cake, by the way. Said it cheered him up. My nephew,” he elaborates when V gives him a confused look.

“Oh, glad to hear that. He looked a little on the down side when I saw him.” V leans on the counter, eyeing River’s wide frame, the metal piece sitting in his holster. “Say, are you open to a side job? Was just thinking of hiring some extra security.”

“I don’t usually—“ He pauses. “For you? Yeah, I’d be down.”

“Good.” V stares hard at him, going through her mental checklist of what a new hire should have. Being able to handle themselves in a firefight and not be completely crazy are V’s top desired traits in a candidate. Maybe even having not destroyed V’s car, but she’s shown that she’s flexible with her hiring decisions with two out of three considered not bad. “Okay, let me give you my number, and I’ll call you when we need you.” 

River nearly trips over himself as he hurries to the counter, and they exchange contacts. “Sure, sure. Will ...uh...will there be any training first?”

V shrugs. 

Jackie takes that moment to return to the front, sighing and muttering in Spanish. He glances up to see River and grins while River instantly sizes him up. “Hey, you’re new. Have you tried our mini-cupcakes?”

“Jackie, this is River. New hire for security. River, this is Jackie.”

“That was fast.” Jackie raises his eyebrows before offering his hand to shake. “Welcome aboard then. V and I are partners.”

“Partners?” River glances between them. “Are you two dating?”

Jackie laughs hysterically for a good five minutes. “Oh, oh. S-sorry, hombre. Let me catch my breath.” His face contorts, and he bursts out laughing again. V gives him the finger from across the room. “She’s my business partner and a friend. Una hermana, you see?” He wipes away a tear. “Thanks for the chuckles.” 

“Fuck you, Jackie. I’m not that bad of a catch.” V makes a face. 

Jackie shakes his head. “Nah, not that. Just never saw us as the compatible type in that regard. Always like the nice, quiet girls, you get what I mean? Someone with a little class.”

“Okay. Seriously, Jackie, fuck you.”

River clears his throat, catching their attention. “Good to know. Didn’t want to make assumptions.” His cheeks are a little red. “So when do I start?” 

V jerks her head towards Jackie. “He can fill you in.” She checks the time. “I have to go meet someone soon.” After she goes home, changes her clothes, and works on her driving skills, apparently.

“Hey, V. Good luck. Remember what I told you.” Jackie winks. “You got this.”

“Thanks. See you, Jack. Welcome aboard, River. Don’t mind Panam. She’s got a mouth on her, but she’s reliable.” V waves to them as she heads out the door, watching a confused River ask Jackie who Panam is.

She hops in her car just as she gets a text from Judy, saying that she’s excited for tonight. V is about to reply when she recalls Jackie’s advice and calms herself down to play it cool. Right. Ladies like mysteries and bad girls. Apparently. V can do this. 

V sends a quick reply back, saying she’ll pick her up as she starts to drive to her place, and it takes all of her willpower not to pull over and check her phone when Judy replies. Turns out it was just a smiley face.

Groaning in the parking lot, V runs a hand down her face. “Nope. Can’t do this. Too uncool.” She sighs, getting out and heading upstairs. Might as well show up in daisy dukes and one of those Asian cone hats and let the inevitable lameness ruin her date. 

She manages to get through a shower and a quick change of clothes before Jackie calls her for some reason. “What’s up?”

“It’s that new bakery. I keep thinking about it. Something’s not right. We need to shut it down, and soon. Thinking of snooping around. See if we can catch them in something.”

Sabotage a new rival before they get off the ground? How corporate. Jackie’s letting the paranoia get to him.

V shakes her head. “What’s happening to you? You’re becoming everything you hate.”

“I’m serious, V. They’re up to no-good! You know the Tyger Claws.”

“This is Night City. Who isn’t?”

“Us! We have a legitimate store, and they are dragging our reputable industry into the mud.”

“Jackie, I am about to go on a date. They’d probably do something first like try to take us out with one of their crummy cakes or something.”

“But, chica, we need to do this for the business!”

“We are not the mafia. Besides, you’re the one that told me to take a break.” V forwards him River’s contact info. “This is why we have a new hire. Go investigate it with him.” She hangs up with Jackie in mid-protest before texting Judy that she’ll be over soon. She glances at her closet and sighs, digging through to find clothes that fit Jackie’s suggested criteria and pass Mama Welles’ critical eye.

One pair of nice black jeans, a button-up, and her leather jacket that could almost pass as formal, and V lets out a sigh of relief that she looks presentable enough for where she’s taking Judy. Glancing at her hair, she attempts to neaten out the strands before she shrugs and gives up a few seconds in. Judy can’t win them all.

She heads down to the garage and grabs her car, ending up in front of Judy’s place soon enough, and her date waves from her apartment window before withdrawing her head. She appears downstairs a few minutes later and trots over to the car as V opens the passenger side door.

Judy does a double take. Then a triple. “Wow, you ...uh…” She bites her lip. “...you clean up real good.”

V smiles. “So, I’ve been told. Hop in.”

It does something for V’s ego when Judy can’t keep her eyes off of her the entire drive there. “So, where we headed to?”

“It’s a famous restaurant in Westbrook. Normally, we wouldn’t be able to get a reservation for months, but I did a gig for them a while back and the owner owes me a favour. Figured it was about time to call it in.”

“Going all in just for little ol’ me?” Judy teases, but there’s an impressed look on her face. “I would have been fine going for some drinks or something.”

“Wanted to make up for my first impression. Sorry I have the density of a neutron star.”

Judy’s expression softens. “Hey, I‘ve already forgiven you. Let’s just focus on tonight.” She reaches over and squeezes V’s arm. 

Conveniently, she somehow forgets to let go.

They pull up to a grey building with a single bouncer standing in front of the doors. V chats with him briefly before he scans her and nods, moving aside. Judy raises an eyebrow as they step into a polished elevator. “Starting to feel out of place here.”

“Why? I feel like you’d fit right in.” When Judy looks at her inquisitively, V smiles. “Beauty matches beauty, right?”

Judy snorts, and V exhales, checking off that line from Jackie. “Okay, Romeo. Dunno where you’re getting your words from, but stop. Making me barf.”

V pauses. That’s bad, right?

The elevator stops, and they step out into the terrace—a restaurant with vaulting high ceilings, gold railings, and glass walls. Judy glances around, surprised. “Shit, this place is fancy.”

“Yeah, I hear that celebrities like to come here a lot. Mostly because they can be left in private.” V checks in with the host who leads them to a table at the outdoor patio. Night City, in all of its glory and vibrant splendour, spreads out below them, but she spots Judy’s lip curling at the sight. “What’s wrong?”

“People have lied and killed and sold themselves out for this place. And yet, here I am, looking at it all.”

“You don’t like it?”

“The view’s fine. The city though…”

V reaches out and brushes her fingers against Judy’s face gently, and Judy starts, a sharp jerk that has V withdrawing. “Hey, sorry. Didn’t realize you felt that way. For tonight, just focus on me, okay?”

Judy’s breathing goes a little ragged at her touch, and she closes her eyes to steady herself. “Yeah, I can do that.” She clears her throat, crossing her legs. “Think I saw some actresses whose BDs I’ve edited sitting inside.”

“Oh? Is that a little awkward?”

Judy shrugs. “Not really. Bodies are just bodies. You kind of get used to it at some point.”

“Does sex itself get kind of boring?”

Judy levels an intense stare at her. “Depends on whom it’s with.” She sits back. “I don’t just fuck whoever begs me.”

“You get asked out a lot?” V glances her over. She sees why. “So, what makes you want to come out with me then?”

“Thought I asked you out this time. And yet, you were the one who insisted on taking charge.” Judy tilts her head, studying V. “Full of surprises. Can’t always predict what’ll happen with you.”

That’s an understatement. “Well, this evening, I may disappoint you a little. I’m hoping for a nice, normal—is that Kerry Eurodyne coming over here?”

They turn to see a man with a gold-plated throat and dark sunglasses coming over, thousand-dollar haircut carefully coiffed while he storms over, agitated. V wonders what in the world she did to piss off an aging rockstar.

Kerry stops in front of their table. “You’re V, right? Owns that bakery with the whore-y cakes?”

Whore-y? “I don’t know where you’re getting your info from, but our cakes are faithfully tailored to the customer’s request!”

“Yeah, yeah. Listen, I got something I need you to do. Will pay you top dollar.” He looks over, noticing Judy for the first time. “Nice rack. She’ll appreciate it.”

“Thanks,” Judy answers dryly.

“Anyway, V. I’ve seen your website. It’s dull. Your PR and marketing team should be fired.”

They don’t have one?

“You need to get some sexy videos out there. Maybe do some interviews. Hype the shit out of this thing and get some pre-orders. That’s where you’ll make the money. Oh, the post-hype crash might be bad, but you’ll recoup your investment on the first day. Seen it before.”

What is he going on about? Why the fuck is Kerry Eurodyne crashing her date?

“No, seriously. Listen to me. What if we make a fuck you dessert and send it to the Us Cracks? Get it on video, maybe bundle some collectibles with it. What do you think?”

V shoves a business card at him, snarling. “Call my partner. Discuss it with him. Now, get lost.” 

“That a yes? Okay, going to take it as a yes.” He looks over at Judy and starts backing away at her expression. “Sorry, I’m sure V’s a great lay. Anyway, talk soon, V.” Kerry makes a call-me gesture before returning to his table.

V can see Judy take a breath, visibly counting to ten before she exhales. “So...you’re popular, huh?”

“Well…” V looks at her, wondering how she can salvage the situation. She smiles and pitches her voice slightly raspy like how Jackie told her to. “I hear I’m pretty wanted.” 

It seems to work as a distraction. Judy’s pupils briefly expand before she clears her throat. “Can’t disagree with that.”

A corner of V’s lips quirk up as she opens up the menu. “Should we start ordering?”

The food itself is reason enough to dress up and haul their asses across Japantown. Real catfish, fresh vegetables, white wine that doesn’t taste like ass—V is lucky she traded in a meal at the restaurant instead of payment. She’s pretty sure these ingredients cost more than her usual rate, and Judy seems to appreciate them, given how quickly her food disappears. 

Still, something rings in V’s head about its location. Isn’t Japantown the home district of the Tyger Claws, their rival bakers? 

“Hey, you there?” Judy touches her hand, and V snaps back to attention. “It’s like your head’s in space sometimes, and I’m trying to get you down.”

“Sorry. Work stuff on my brain.” V scrubs a hand through her hair. “We got some competition.” She glances up, instantly smiling like Jackie told her to do. “Unlike you. You’re the only one in my eyes.”

Judy sighs, “You’re trying too hard.” V freezes as Judy continues, “Next, you’re gonna be telling me you have cue cards in your pocket.”

V glances down at her jacket. Shit, did she see them?

“Be real with me. What do you actually want?”

“To not be a total gonk,” V sighs.

The corners of Judy’s lips twitch. “There’s always next time.” She sighs, “You’re doing fine, V, when you’re not spouting cheesy lines or taking me to places where you stick out like a sore thumb.”

As a former merc, V tends to stick out everywhere except Afterlife. “I just wanted this evening to be memorable.”

“The place doesn’t matter if the person is boring. Likewise, a mundane date can be livened up by a charming person.” Judy smiles. “I liked you even when you were running around with flour on your eyebrows. You don’t have to keep pretending with all of this.”

V eyes her wine glass, filled with the expensive alcohol on the table. “If you knew I was faking it, why are you still drinking?”

Judy shrugs. “It’s nice wine.”

V sighs, undoing the top two buttons of her shirt, so she can finally breathe. “Okay. Wanna grab a scopburger next time?”

“Mmm.” Judy zeroes in on the skin at V’s collar, pupils blossoming. “I’m down for that.”

V grins until she spots the waiter walking over with a weirdly-shaped cake that has a strange lump. She frowns, not recalling when she ordered that. “Hey, did you get dessert?”

Judy turns. “Nope. Don’t recognize that thing.” She squints. “Wouldn’t order it either based on the decorating skill.”

Maybe it’s leftover instinct from life as a merc. Maybe it is a budding new sense from her time as a baker, but V tenses, feeling cold fingers creeping down the back of her neck. “Fuck, there’s something wrong with it.” Like food poisoning or worse.

V activates her Kiroshi optics, cursing when she’s unable to read what’s in it through layers of sponge filling. What the hell’s in the frosting? Lead?

She stands. “Get that thing away from us,” she barks at the startled waiter, only a few meters from them.

Judy glances at the dessert then back at V. “What’s wrong? Besides it being ugly?”

“Something’s off. Something isn’t right.”

The waiter puts down the cake on a nearby table. “Ma’am, someone from the Crummiest Cakes paid a lot of money to get this for you. I need to give you a piece as they requested.”

He takes out a knife, slicing into it, and, on instinct, V dives forward, tackling a startled Judy to the floor behind the table as an explosion rips through the outdoor patio. The fire rip outwards in a furious, clawing ball before disappearing in a massive billow of smoke, confused screams sounding out around them. Half a heartbeat later, the shockwave sends everything flying.

V bounces across the floor, slamming into the glass railing with an ominous crack, still holding on tightly to Judy. Smoke streams into her eyes, making them water as she instantly scans the patio, reaching automatically for the gun not at her side. Fuck.

Judy coughs beneath her, and V glances down, seeing the shock and confusion in her eyes. “Are you okay?’

“What...what happened?” Judy struggles to sit up as V stands and helps her to her feet, still scanning the scene. Other than the waiter and a small scorch mark where the cake was, nothing else was harmed. V is slightly disappointed that they didn’t even bother sending a properly made bomb. Probably had some idiot with an instruction vid craft his first one, not realizing that the sponginess of the cake diluted the explosive effect.

“Fucking Tyger Claws.” V kicks at a piece of broken marble on the floor. “Jackie was right. They really are crummy. Even their assassination attempts.”

The crowd flees the scene, rushing back indoors as the remaining servers try to calm them, smoke still rising from the centerpoint. Judy stares, befuddled, the tips of her strands scorched by the explosion. “Uh...yeah, V. I gotta—“ She runs a hand through her hair, not looking at her. “—gotta go.” She takes off towards the elevator without looking back.

Shit.

“Jud—” V takes a step forward but stops when she catches Judy’s expression in the elevator. Swallowing, her hand drifts back to her side as the doors close on Judy. There would be nothing gained from talking with her now. 

“Maybe...maybe she just needs some time,” V mutters, glancing around to the sympathetic look of a waiter who puts a hand on her shoulder.

“Dude, she’s gone. Sorry.” He pats her gently before coughing. “I’m guessing you don’t want the dessert menu.”

V goes down in the elevator a few minutes later, calling Jackie, and he picks up on the second ring. “Hey, aren’t you supposed to be in the middle of something important right now?”

“Judy bailed. Tyger Claws sent an explosive wrapped in a cake.” V’s voice is tight.

“Tyger Claws cake-bombed your date? I’m sorry, chica.”

“Meet me in an hour. We’re razing their fucking bakery to the ground.”

“...okay, not that sorry then. Fucking finally! We can even test out the new guy.”

River has some misgivings about the assignment when he meets up with them as they hunker behind a dumpster in the alley of the Crummiest Cakes bakery. “So, I’m not sure breaking-and-entering counts as security work.”

“Someone attempted to murder me. We are getting revenge, thus you are guarding us from counter-revenge.” V checks her pistol. “Don’t ask so many questions. It’ll hurt your brain.”

River rubs his head. “Yeah, I feel that.” He looks over as V finishes scanning the building, figuring out where the guards and security cameras are. “Hey, so this might be a bad time, but....are you seeing anyone?”

V hears Jackie groan on her other side, the big man having crept forwards to the back door. “Yeah, I have a thing with a girl I met. Or I did. There was some kind of bomb. You don’t need to know the details.”

“Oh. Are you guys still…?”

“I don’t know.” V sighs, “I just want another chance to redo everything. She’s not responding to me.”

“You seem to really like her,” River says softly, looking down. “I know it’ll work out for you. In the meantime, I guess...being friends isn’t bad.”

V looks at him. “Weren’t we before?”

River jerks and nods rapidly. “Of course! Yeah. Totally. I’m...I’m just going to go scout over there.” He edges over to the other side of the dumpster as Jackie sighs.

“Chica, just shoot him. It’s kinder.”

V frowns, but she finishes her scan, letting the others know the info she found before creeping towards the door to unlock it. It springs open with a click, and V slowly eases it open as they edge their way into a dark kitchen. “We can stand. There’s four in the front with a big dude guarding the door there.” 

River exhales. “We do this quietly then. Choke them out?”

V pauses, halfway up. “Uh-huh.” She looks around the sink, spotting bags of SynthCoke, Boost, and Black Lace sitting in the bottom. “Oh, they were planning to have a party here. Real nasty shit to prep people for a fight. Guess Jackie was right about the drug front.” What, were they planning to bake them into their brownies?

Coming over, River flashes a light on the bags, frowning. “Huh, this might be related to one of my cases. Tons of poor kids overdosing on drugs someone didn’t cut properly.”

“So, if we kill most of them and save one for your interrogation, could we play it as murder-suicide?” V asks.

River shrugs. “Black Lace is known to cause cyberpsychosis as a side effect. I could see that happening.”

“Awesome.” V knew she made a good hiring decision. “Okay, let’s go shock-and-awe. Rush them.” She moves towards the door that leads to the storefront.

River glances over the tables as they pass. “Isn’t your driver a former merc? Shouldn’t she be here too?”

V snorts. “Jackie didn’t want to pay overtime.”

Jackie answers, “That shit is expensive! It adds up.” He glances over the food left on the prep tables. “Besides, she’s not missing much.”

“This is disgusting.” V backs away from a pile of mouldy bread left near an open jug of synth-milk. “Couldn’t even bother to put these away?”

“Guess not.” River examines the open egg carton sitting near the pie crusts. “And it’s a health code violation.”

“Oh, now, you’re a health inspector?” V snaps. 

“Just an amateur cook who gets ticked off at poor sanitation.” River’s jaw tenses, and he pushes past V. “My partners got sick after eating some of their stuff.”

They almost reach the door leading to the front when it opens on its own, a gang member peering into the dark before he flips on the light.

They all freeze, seeing each other before River shouts, “Do you know how fucking unsanitary leaving eggs unrefrigerated overnight is? That’s salmonella waiting to happen!”

The gangster shouts, “Oh, fuck! It’s a health inspection! Shoot them!”

Jackie, V, and River dive behind the tables as a hail of bullets bounce off of the steel. River pants, ducking his head under a counter. “Who do I report to if I’m unhappy about my work?”

Jackie points to V before firing back shots, nailing the howling Tyger Claw member in the leg as three more try to burst through the door at once. 

River turns to her. “Okay, then. I’d like to report unsafe working conditions.”

V roars, unloading her pistol into a gangster trying to creep closer. “Fuck your report. Do your job!”

Jackie laughs. “You got the whole HR thing nailed down, chica!” He bellows at the hulking Tyger Claw figure squeezing his way in. “Eres tan feo que hiciste llorar a una cebolla!”

River shakes his head, smiling. “Sounds like the NCPD. Nice to see something familiar.” He follows suit when Jackie breaks cover to barrel across the room, striking the massive fighter in the head as V downs the remaining two gunmen. 

A handful of minutes later, they wrestle down the last gangster into submission, his face against the floor with Jackie holding his arms back in one hell of a lock.

“Spill.” River’s boot presses against one cheek. “Where are your drugs coming from?”

The Tyger Claw snarls until Jackie yanks back on his arms hard enough that he starts screaming. V turns away from the scene, examining the side of the room until she finds a pile of explosives that are oddly cake-sized. She says quietly, “Guys, you better get out. And go really far.”

Ten minutes later, there’s not much of the bakery left when a massive explosion wipes out the entire block.

Jackie turns to her as they watch a massive tunnel of smoke twist up into the sky. “Think you might have overdone it, chica.”

V crosses her arms. “It’s their fault I’m going to be alone forever.”

River hums, typing something into his phone. “I saw nothing. Too busy catching my partner up on the lead I got for one of my cases.” He kicks the unconscious and tied-up member at his feet before he nods. “Thanks, V. Wouldn’t have found it without you calling me for an illegal break-in.”

“We had cause,” V objects.

“I know. Just kidding. NCPD does sketchier shit sometimes.” River drops his smile. “Seriously though, don’t get caught doing that shit. At least without a pocketful of eddies.”

Jackie nods. “Right. We don’t have a budget line item for bribery.” He makes a note on his phone, muttering. “Anyway, feel better, V?”

V stares miserably at her phone, seeing no new texts from Judy. “I think I really fucked up.”

Jackie slaps her on the back as River heads off, waving. “Give her time?” He shrugs. “If not, I got a bunch of orders from the girls at Lizzie’s, asking for you to deliver to them personally.”

So, V waits, and on the third day, Judy finally calls her. “Can we meet up?”

“Yeah, sure.” V finishes tying up the ribbon on a package. She exhales. “Thought I wasn’t going to hear from you.”

“I...freaked out. Wasn’t expecting our first date to be so explosive.”

V sighs, “Things did kind of blow up. The cake torpedo’ed everything.”

“Other than that, I had a blast with you—when you were just being yourself. Saw some sparks there.” Judy’s voice softens. “Sorry. Should have said something. Guess we’re even for that time you ghosted me?”

“Are we keeping score now?” 

“No, shouldn’t be doing that shit. Just...meet me when you get a break, okay?”

A couple of hours later, they close down the bakery, and V meets Judy at a nearby noodle cart, close to Lizzie’s.

Judy waves to her as V hops on the stool next to her. “Hey, thanks for meeting me so quickly.”

“Hey.” V slumps to the table, preparing to be dumped. Can they break up if they weren’t even a thing? “Just do it quickly so I can slink home and sob to my tequila.”

“What?” Judy looks baffled before shaking her head. “No, I wanted to give you something.”

“A slap to the face? A restraining order?” V peeks between her fingers. It’s not me, it’s you?

“Nah, I want to see you lots. And I kind of need you alive for that.” Judy pulls out a small black device from her pocket—some device that’s half the size of her phone. “It’s a portable IED jammer that allows you to block radio transmission on the same frequencies as any remote-controlled explosive devices. I’ve programmed into it the full spectrum of specified frequencies that are used, but it doesn’t account for any strange one-offs.” She glances up before looking away. “I figured you needed a backup for when your cyberware isn’t working if we get caught out again.”

V stares at the jammer in her hand before looking up. “We? Again?”

“Yeah.” Judy ducks her head. “Hoping there’s a next time…if you want.” She exhales. “Couldn’t stop thinking ‘bout you when I was alone. Think I might have it bad,” she says softly.

V nods rapidly. “Yes, want. More.” She slaps her face. “Urgh, words. A date is good.”

“You’re such a space case.” Judy bursts out laughing.

V pauses. “Is that a bad thing?” Or good? Does she want more of it? Does that mean V needs to orbit around her more?

“Just an observation. Relax. I can hear you overthinking from here.”

No, she can’t.

“Yes, I can.” Judy smiles as she leans an elbow on the counter. “It’s all over your face.” She glances at the vendor discreetly giving them some space before biting her lip. “We could redo the first one again right now.”

V leaps at the chance. “Absolutely.”

Finally, she gets a break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Eres tan feo que hiciste llorar a una cebolla!_ = "You're so ugly, you made an onion cry!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bakery proceeds to gain traction. Kerry has an idea to help, and V gets closer to Judy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy the story! Thank you to Halifax for her feedback and beta-reading as always!

Judy hangs around the bakery more often with Jackie even letting her into the kitchen while V works.

She glances over the messy workstation. “Were you the one who made my cake?”

“Nah, that was Jackie and Misty.” V raises an eyebrow, pushing batter in a bowl off to one side. “Were you hoping it was based on mine?”

“Jesus. Not that desperate.” Judy shoves her. “Just curious.”

“You can admit you were interested in knowing everything about me,” V teases. She slows, glancing down. “Though I wonder...what do you like about me?”

“Well…” Judy leans forward, winking. “I can’t fault your taste in women.”

“I’m serious,” V sighs. 

“So was I.” She reaches forward, turning V’s face gently towards her. “What is this about?”

“I just…I don’t know. Sometimes, this whole thing feels off.” V waves to indicate the bakery. “Not sure what it is yet.”

“Is it the fact you have flour on your forehead?” She does? “You smell constantly like bread?” She does?! “You have to manage angry employees who drive big jeeps?” 

Leaning back, Judy shrugs. “Honestly, your bread-smelling, dirty clothes aren’t a big deal. Even if you’re always a little covered in baking soda or something when you see me.”

V scowls. She reaches over and slaps flour on Judy’s cheek. “There. Now we match.”

Judy’s eyes narrow. “You’re dead.”

She’s surprisingly strong for someone who sits in a basement all day, managing to wrestle V against the steel table...until V actually tried. 

Judy scowls. “What the fuck? It’s like you have steel rods in your shoulders.”

“Yeah…” V changes topic. “Ready to submit to me yet?”

“Right here? Oh, well...” Judy leans in, voice going husky in V’s ear. “All you had to do was ask.” She nips V’s earlobe, and V launches herself back, nearly knocking the tub of flour off of the table and accidentally putting her hand in a jug of synth-milk. 

V’s face burns. “Wha—I wasn’t ready.”

“That’s the idea.” Judy laughs, and V relaxes at her expression, admiring how carefree she looks, how happy. Without thinking, V steps forward and presses a kiss against Judy’s lips—brief, almost chaste—before pulling back.

Judy stares, mouth hanging slightly open. “What was that?”

“A...kiss?” V falters. Shit, was it too early? Maybe Judy wasn’t ready. “Sorry, it just felt right, and—“

Judy surges forward, slamming V’s hips against the steel counter and yanking her down into a furious kiss. Grabbing the back of V’s head, Judy pulls her closer as if trying to blur the line between them. 

V takes a moment before she joins in, wrapping her arms around Judy who growls in her mouth. Holy fuck, is she—

The door opens, and Panam’s voice cuts through the room.

“What the fuck, guys? I just wanted to take a nap.” 

They snap apart, seeing Panam turned around, not looking at them. “Don’t fuck in the kitchen. That shit is unsanitary.”

“We weren’t—“ Judy coughs, running a hand through her hair to smooth it out. Her lipstick is smeared. Her eyes are dazed as she tries to straighten out the one latch on her overalls. V feels so proud of herself. “—uh...I was helping her—“

“Find her tonsils?” Panam touches her forehead like she has a headache. “Seriously, save it for after work. V, we got a shit ton of orders to do.”

V nods before turning to Judy. “She’s right. Sorry.”

“Oh, don’t be. I’m not.” Judy smiles slyly before leaning in to kiss V on the cheek. “See you soon.”

Judy waves briefly before she heads out, and V turns to Panam who approaches with her arms crossed.

“You two are disgusting.” Panam suddenly smiles. “I’m happy for you. Truly.”

“You’re just saying that because I’m your boss.”

“You’re not the boss of me.”

“See, this shit here is how you pissed off Rogue in the first place. Speaking of which...” V checks the computer, eyeing an order from the most famous fixer in Night City. “Looks like we have a request from her.” 

“Tell her to fuck off.” 

“Since she paid upfront, I think Jackie’s answer will be no.” 

“No! C’mon, she probably wants us to get rid of evidence. We are not baking a body into a cake and moving it.”

The double doors swing open, and Jackie comes in. “Hey, you guys okay in here? I heard something earlier, and I don’t want you and Judy banging in here. It’s a health code violation.”

“When do you care—nevermind.” V gestures to Panam. “Tell her to do Rogue’s request.”

He shakes his head. “Nah, she can sit out if she wants.” Jackie shrugs as Panam shoots V a smug look. “Rogue asked specifically for you. Doesn’t want Panam near this gig.”

“What! Fuck her! Can’t take my job away from me...again.” 

V raises an eyebrow. “Why me?”

“Hell if I know, chica. All I got is that this cake has gotta go to the columbarium for Johnny Silverhand.” 

One awkward ride with an irate Panam later, V steps onto the concrete in front of the memorial building in North York. “God, it’s hot.” She wipes the sweat from her forehead as she heads into the cool shade, Panam muttering ominously behind her. 

“Must be an ex or something.” V checks the instructions from Rogue, walking all the way to the back of the building. She takes a right and stops in front of the wall there. “This is the memorial Rogue says she bought for him.” V peers at the epitaph. “Here lies Johnny Silverhand’s musical career: 2020-2023. Never fade away. Ouch.” 

Panam pauses. “So, he’s not dead?”

“Not as much as his musical career, apparently.” V shrugs, leaving the cake below the memorial. 

She and Panam start to head back when a familiar-looking man comes down their way with a bouquet of roses. 

V squints. “Is that—”

“Well, about fucking time, V. Thought you were avoiding my message when you wouldn’t answer.” Kerry plants a hand on one hip. “When the fuck did you plan to message me back about the record label plans?

Is he the weird number that keeps texting her about the Us Cracks? “Did you talk to Jackie yet?”

Kerry waves her off. “Yes, but I want to work with you.” He cocks his head. “Remind me of someone from a long time ago,” he says softly.

“V, who is this?” Panam asks.

Kerry’s eyebrows shoot into his hair. “Kerry fucking Eurodyne, kid. Did you grow up in the boonies?” 

Panam shrugs. 

V pinches the bridge of her nose. “Let me talk to my partner and get back to you. Besides—“ She gestures to the bouquet in his arms. “—you look busy right now.”

Kerry glances down at the roses. “Ah, this? This is for an old friend...or, rather, the man he used to be.” He shrugs. “Bastard would throw a fit if he saw me now.”

Right. “Cool. I’ll leave you to it.” V signals for Panam to follow her back to the car, shaking her head as they slide back into their seats. “Can’t believe I’m being stalked by a rockstar.”

Panam raises an eyebrow. “Isn’t that how you got your output?”

V opens her mouth then closes it. “Fair.”

“Though Judy doesn’t look like the sharing type.” Panam pulls out onto the street. “Better hope he won’t ask for something weird.”

V calls Jackie and confirms that Kerry totally does want something strange. “Let me get this straight, he wants me to show up some Asian pop band using baked goods? The dude’s a little obsessed.” 

“V, this is Kerry Eurodyne! Superstar extraordinaire! You go over there and play along with what he wants until you get me an autograph.”

V rolls her eyes. Jackie clearly has priorities. “Right. Excuse me. Going to give Mr. Superstar a call.” She exhales before bringing up Kerry’s name on her phone. “Hey, so I spoke with Jackie. He’s in.”

Kerry grunts, looking as if he’s getting back into an expensive-looking cab. “Smart man. So, the Us Cracks...” 

Kerry wants to send them a big fuck-you cake, so V delivers one in the shape of a rude hand gesture. When the girls find out it’s from Kerry Eurodyne, they’re over the moon, gasping and jumping around in excitement.

“Kerry-sama noticed us!” the one with purple hair exclaims. “Is this your normal custom here?”

“Sure.” V’s busy avoiding the side glances the blue-haired one gives her, smile suggestive. 

Red-haired girl nods. “It’s settled then. We need to respond.” 

They send V an order of a cake of their own, and Kerry nearly pops a vein when he opens the box and sees the same kind he sent them. “This means war.”

“I think they think it means hello.” V shifts as she sits in Kerry’s massive mansion. Seriously, where does he get all of this gold? “Job done?”

“No. We are going to show those little shits who’s in charge here.”

They do no such thing. V sneaks Kerry backstage as a deliveryman, and he ends up being flustered by the Us Cracks’ clear admiration of him, their questions about how he managed to rise so high, and their ideas for a new track. The girls are eager to learn from him, and it seems to strike a chord.

Kerry leaves with flushed cheeks and a smile. “Guess those girls aren’t so bad.” 

“Uh-huh.” V didn’t notice much as she was trying very hard to get Blue Moon to stop giving V her number. “Guess that’s it. Pleasure doing business with you.”

“Now, hold on. You helped me out. I’m going to pay back the favour. Besides,” Kerry shrugs, “it’s a new thing I’m into. Taking dinky businesses and turning them into successes.”

“We are not dinky.”

Kerry ignores her. “You guys need a PR manager. I mean, how do you guys even advertise? I haven’t seen you on any of the buildings around here.”

“Word of mouth.” V rolls her eyes as she tries to get into her car with Kerry blocking her way. “Okay, dude. I’m trying to leave.”

“You guys aren’t mercs now. You’re in business. Lemme help you out this one time, and we can talk about it if we still want to work together.”

“Yes, fine. Geez.” V gets into the car before she pauses and comes back out. “By the way, can I grab your autograph? It’s for a friend.”

Kerry doesn’t call again for a week, and V figures he forgot. She returns to baking cakes, delivering them, and stealing kisses from Judy whenever she can, as much as she can.

They eventually end up watching a movie at V’s place, the newest one that Evelyn was in because V got really curious. It really is terrible. “See? Train fight physics doesn't work like that. No way they can keep their balance and manage a spin kick into a sweep.” V’s tried. “And why are they taking so long to kill each other? Should only take one or two blows max or else you’re doing it wrong.” And why the heck did they think rebooting Bushido X was a good idea? No original ones?

“Didn’t think you’d be that into this movie.” Judy hugs the bowl of popcorn, seeming to shift closer every minute until she’s almost in V’s lap. Guess V should get a bigger couch. “Yeah, Evelyn told me the director was kind of not all there. Said the most interesting thing about playing the female lead was the free catering.”

V would be down for that too. “Don’t blame her. The hero’s a dud. The plot doesn’t even make sense. Dude gets his arms ripped off, and she lies there while he’s bleeding out. Now, they’re in the hospital, guy’s half naked, the nurses are gone, and—”

Oh. Wow.

Really? While the guy’s in the hospital? Can’t fault him though.

“Uh…” V glances over, noticing Judy watching the scene with a bored expression. “It’s not weird seeing Evelyn have a sex scene on film?”

Judy shrugs. “It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve seen her like that.” 

“Okay, you guys have a bizarre friendship that I don’t understand. I’m not even going to ask.”

Judy laughs, “Relax, V. She’s been in other movies and BDs.”

Relax? V’s watching a video in which her output’s best friend is having exaggerated, somewhat awkward sex while sitting next to said output. This is too weird even for V. “I’m just going to speed through this part.”

Judy teases. “Never took you for such a prude.”

“It’s the context!” V waves at the screen. “Aren’t you uncomfortable with me seeing Evelyn like this?”

Shrugging, Judy flips her hair back. “Evelyn’s gorgeous and all, and she has some moves here. But—“ She meets V’s eyes, a corner of her mouth slowly pulling up. “—she’s got nothing compared to what I’m going to do to you.”

The air thickens, heats up until there’s something smouldering between them. Swallowing, V turns off the TV before she returns to Judy who leans in, caressing the top of V’s thigh. “Seems like you got something else in min—“

Judy kisses her, sighing, as her fingers dig through V’s hair. She leans in, pinning V’s shoulders to the couch as she clambers fully into her lap, and V eagerly lends a hand, pulling Judy forward by her hips. 

Judy burns like a brand, heat under her skin like liquid fire, and she moans against V’s mouth with a throaty, high-pitched sound that’s driving V crazy.

Until V’s phone rings.

When V glances over, Judy growls and grabs her by the chin, yanking her attention back to her. “Focus, V.”

The phone rings again. 

“I swear if you look over there one more time...”

“It might be something urgent, Judy. Just let me take a look.”

It rings a third time, and V reaches forward to answer. Judy twists around and swats it from the table, sending the phone skittering across the floor as V dives for it, taking Judy with her.

They tumble on the ground, wrestling to grab ahold of it, ending up with V straddling Judy while holding the device in the air triumphantly. “Who is this?”

“Kerry Eurodyne, you fuck. God, I’ve been trying to reach you forever.” He peers down at them.  
“Looks like I interrupted something. Sorry, did I blue-ball you? It’s how I feel about you not picking up. Wait, what’s the female equivalent? Blue walls?”

V sighs, “What do you want, Kerry?” She falls on her rear when Judy shoves her off, storming to the end of the couch where she sits, breathing heavily. V can see the tension in her shoulders from here. “This is a bad time. I will call you in ten, okay?” She hangs up before Kerry could respond, turning off her phone.

V examines Judy before clearing her throat. “Looks like the mood’s ruined. Can I offer you something? Drink? Cold shower?”

Judy shakes her head, taking several deep breaths. “No, I’m just going to go...for a walk or something. See you, V.” She jams her hands in her pockets, ducking out of the apartment while V groans, falling back onto the couch while cursing Kerry out to the moon and back.

Picking up the phone, she calls him. “Happy?”

“That you can focus on something other than getting laid, yes. So, I got an idea how to get more people to look at your place. There’s this new food critic who’s tough to impress. If you can get him to approve of your food, your sales will skyrocket.”

V peers at the article Kerry uploads for her, reading about how most of Goro Takemura’s reviews consist of a single star along with the words “Sawdust and plastic!” She shakes her head. “Seems pretty picky. Wait, I’ve seen him before. Why does Saburo Arasaka’s bodyguard work part-time as a food critic?”

Kerry shrugs. “Everyone has a side gig nowadays. It’s the economy.”

“Well, why is he so popular if he only gives one star reviews?”

“People find him refreshing and honest.” 

“Okay...so how are we getting him to review our desserts?”

“We kidnap him,” Kerry answers happily. “Don’t worry! Already hired the mercs, and they’re putting him in a trunk as we speak.”

“...what.” 

“Yeah, just come down to your bakery. Oh, and call your chick. You might want to make it up to her. Seemed pretty frustrated in a manner of speaking.”

Fuck you, Kerry. “You have the worst timing, you know.”

“Well, if you did her faster, you wouldn’t have this problem. Maybe cut down on the foreplay.” Kerry rolls his eyes. “See you, V!”

V swears as he hangs up, calling Judy right after and going straight to her voicemail. Kerry’s comment hits her after she leaves a message. Frustrated about what?

She ponders over it as she drives over to the bakery. Entering, she sees Jackie at the cash register, gaping slightly with glazed over eyes.

“Dude, Kerry from Samurai spoke to me.” Jackie looks starstruck.

V sighs, “Old man Eurodyne is already here?”

“Old man?” Kerry appears from the kitchen. “Listen here, you little shit—“ He pauses when there’s a bang from behind him and a shout. “—hold that thought. We should deal with our guest first.”

V passes through the double doors to see Panam standing well away from an older man who scowls, clean-cut, hair tied precisely on top of his head. He stands out, mostly because he’s tied thoroughly to a chair with at least three layers of knots. “Goro Takemura?”

Takemura deepens his scowls and starts cursing in Japanese, his voice coming out as a growl.

Kerry glances over. “What’s he saying?”

“He’s just talking about how he plans to kill us all.” V squints. “That method sounds particularly brutal. Through a small hole in the stomach. Really? You can do that?”

Panam coughs, “So, what’s our plan other than get arrested on kidnapping charges?”

Kerry grins. He bows with enough of a flourish that Takemura pauses to eye him suspiciously. “My apologies, Takemura-san, but we need your attention for just a bit.”

“Cut out my tongue now, because I will never give you Arasaka’s secrets. Kuso kurae!”

“Oh...uh, we don’t really care about corporate dealings.” Kerry rubs the back of his neck. “We just want you to review this bakery’s cakes.”

Takemura pauses, one shoulder nearly popped out from struggling against his restraints. “Then, why did you kidnap me?”

“I tried calling, but you never answered your phone,” Kerry says. “Did you ever learn how to open voicemail?”

Takemura mutters something about useless technology. He straightens up. “Then, why did you tie me up?”

“You were trying to kill the mercs I hired?” Kerry raises an eyebrow.

“And us,” Panam adds.

Takemura exhales, closing his eyes. “Unbelievable.” Opening them, he glances around. “Well? Where are these desserts that I am losing circulation in my hands for?”

After reluctantly releasing the bound man, he gets up, rubbing his wrists as he circles around the steel table where a buffet of Jackie’s best works line the surface in bright, sweet colours and shapes. Takemura is not impressed with their offerings, lip curling up in contempt. “This is what you eat here in the NUSA? Sugar-heavy scraps with no texture? No finesse?” He stands, rolling up his sleeves. “I will show you barbarians how to make a proper cake palatable to the Japanese tongue.”

Takemura curses them out and their mothers and their mothers’ mothers when he learns they use synth-ingredients instead of ‘ganic. “May you rot in Hell for this culinary treachery.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Kerry waves it off. “You gonna make us a cake or not?”

Whatever V has to say about Arasaka henchmen, she feels respect growing at the fact Takemura doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty if he needs to. After softening the cream cheese, mixing in unsalted butter, he heats the bowl over boiling water, whisking it into a beautiful mixture before adding milk to thin out the consistency. He measures his cake flour carefully, sifting through it with quick taps of his hand before adding it along with egg yolks to the liquid portion. Using the discarded egg whites, he adds lemon juice, a ton of sugar, and runs a hand mixer into it before combining it with the batter. He perfectly pours it to a round cake pan and bakes it while they all awkwardly stand around, looking at each other. 

V takes a moment to sneak out into the storefront and call Judy, finally reaching her. “Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah, just...it’d be nice to have uninterrupted time to ourselves, y’know?” Judy seems to be at her place, sitting against the open window. 

“Yeah, Kerry said you seemed frustrated earlier. Was it because he called?”

“More or less.” Judy exhales. “What did he want you for?”

“Ah, we kidnapped a food critic so he could review our dessert for Kerry’s PR stunt.” V waves it off casually. “The usual.”

“Don’t know what world you live in, but that’s not normal for anybody.”

“Okay, it might be a little excessive. Kerry got excited.” V scratches her head. “But the bastard is incredibly picky. And...I don’t think he knows how to work his phone.” 

Humming, Judy taps the windowsill in thought. “Maybe you could use a drink to complement the food?”

“Yeah, but what would a guy with a thick Japanese accent want?”

“Japanese?” Judy hums. “A client paid us in green tea once. Suze was livid, but I thought it was good stuff. Took it off of her hands when she was about to throw it out. Could bring it over if you think it’ll help.”

“I’ll take anything at this point.” V sighs, “Thanks, Jude. I’ll make it up to you.”

“Yeah, you will.” She hangs up, and V glances back at the kitchen, air growing more tense than that time Jackie lost his pants in a poker bet at his mother’s bar.

V returns as Takemura retrieves the cake from the oven, the smell of it admittedly making them all lean in a little closer. After carefully turning it over and knocking it from the pan, he takes a knife and cuts a perfect slice at 30 degrees, looking at them triumphantly.

Takemura takes a bite out of his cheesecake before going quiet and putting down his fork. 

V prompts him when the silence seems to grow too strong. “Hey, Takemura?”

He jerks as if waking from a nightmare. “I have dishonoured my country and must rectify this.” He grabs a kitchen knife, and it takes Jackie, Panam, and V to wrestle it off of him.

“No seppuku!” V tosses the blade into the sink. “Live with your shame like the rest of us!”

“Fine! Prepare for your single star review!” Takemura barks, face going red. He walks around the table and starts obliterating his way through the desserts and Jackie’s sense of self-esteem. Jackie’s hanging off of V’s shoulder, nearly sobbing when there’s a knock at the back door, and Panam lets Judy walk in with a paper packet in her hand.

Judy raises an eyebrow at the scene—the furious Takemura with a fork in his hand, having devastated a line of mini cupcakes like guards in a tower. “Uh...anyone want to take a break? I brought—” She glances at the label. “—genmaicha?”

“You have real tea?” Takemura stops his rampage, looking at her in awe and taking the package with a reverence that makes Judy slowly step away. “I’ll make it. I haven’t had this brand in so long.”

Takemura is just as precise with his tea as he is with his cakes, heating the water to a specific temperature and letting the tea steep with a timer. At some point, Panam rolls her eyes and heads out to deliver more orders while Kerry falls asleep in the corner. Jackie grabs a blanket from the cot and tucks it around him. “We gotta watch out for the elderly, chicas. It’s a matter of respect.”

Takemura turns, pouring the tea into cups for everyone. “It is done. Come.” He grabs his own and sips, a smile spreading slowly across his face—childlike, awed—before he takes another.

“He actually likes this stuff. You’re a fucking genius.” V whispers, planting a kiss on Judy’s cheek. “What would I do without you?”

“Get blown up by cake bombs and disappoint food critics, apparently.” Judy turns away with a smile on her face. “Probably should pay attention to your guest though.”

V looks up to see Takemura sitting with his head bowed. “What a fragrant taste. So pure. So clean.” He gazes at the cup in his hand. “I grew up in Chiba-11, the worst district in Japan. My father slaved in a kitchen, and my mother worked her hands to the bone to get food and clothes for us. When I got recruited by Arasaka, she spent a small fortune to procure this tea for me. It was my favourite. We drank it, just the two of us in our dirty kitchen that she tried so hard to keep clean. It was the last thing I shared with my mother before I left for training. I never saw her again.” He sighs, bowing his head. “All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.” 

Takemura goes silent for such a long time that Judy nudges V in the ribs, whispering, “Did he die or something?”

“Fuck, if he did, we’ll never get our review.” V clears her throat. “Takemura—“

“I am not dead,” he reproaches her. “I was merely giving the moment respect.”

“Well, can we do it faster? We have some orders we need to fill.” Jackie checks his watch.

Takemura groans, cursing in Japanese as he gets up. He finishes the rest of the food, going through the churros with a furrow of his brows and the flan with a reluctant nod, sipping on his tea the entire way through as if to cleanse his mouth. When he finishes, he taps his chin in thought, murmuring.

“Well?” Jackie prompts. “What do you think?”

Takemura shakes his head. “I shall need time to compose my thoughts. You can read about them this evening in the news.”

V rolls her eyes. “Good enough. Let’s wake Kerry so we can all get the fuck out of here.”

Kerry is livid when he talks to V later that evening, sputtering over Takemura’s review. “What is this shit? ‘Two stars: sawdust and plastic...but with heart!’” He slaps his forehead. “Ah, fuck. If you want advertisement done right, you need to do it yourself.”

V nods, wondering why Kerry calls her so often and concluding that he’s secretly very lonely. “Sure. You do you.”

V and Jackie find out what he means when a week later, he forwards a still of himself holding up one of their desserts with the words, “Buy this fucking cake” neatly printed underneath.

Jackie scratches his head. “His ad doesn’t mince words, I’ll give him that.” He checks the computer. “And it seems to work with the amount of orders coming in. Better get to it, chica.”

V groans, covering her head with her arms as she sinks down on one of the tables. All those requests will take all night to make. “When is it going to end, Jackie?”

“Hey, enjoy it while it lasts. Won’t get this forever, you know?” Jackie reminds her as he goes to prep more dough. 

Sighing, V rises as she gets a message from Judy asking if V is free. V replies that she has work. Without missing a beat, Judy says that she’ll come over with that horrible burrito V likes if she doesn’t mind her hanging there. 

V smiles, sending a quick thank you text back.

It’s not all bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone catch the reference in the paragraph with Takemura's life story?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy has a surprise for V, but it’s not the one she expects.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just something fluffy and light. Thank you to Halifax for her beta-reading and feedback as always. 
> 
> Disclaimer: All of my Spanish came from Google Translate. If something reads weird, that's why.

Judy surprises V by inviting her on a whole-day date when she visits the kitchen one day.

“I know you still have orders, but you need to rest, mi calabacita.” She shrugs when V asks why. “I swear you probably dream about the bakery with how hard you work.”

V shudders. She’s still trying to get over the bread nightmares. “Yeah, but Jackie—"

“Can manage fine without you, chica.” Jackie pops by, slapping her on the back. “You gotta sacrifice sometimes to keep your output happy. Like Mama always said, happy wife, happy life.” He pauses, musing. “She also said a woman with a knife is always right. Wonder where that comes from.”

“Okay, I get it.” V takes off her apron and hangs it up on the coat hook near the double doors. “Sweep me off of my feet, Jude. My body is ready.”

Jackie checks the computer. “Wait, chica. Can you do one last order before you call it a day?”

“Why can’t Panam do it?”

“Uh...it’s to a certain customer who does not want to see her.” He rubs his nape sheepishly. “Sorry about asking.”

V sighs, “Fine. We’ll swing by Afterlife.” Would it kill Panam to apologize or something?

Judy takes the diversion well enough as she shepherds V into her van. “I just like spending time with you.” She takes a right turn. “Plus, it’s bound to be entertaining.” 

The big bouncer in front of Afterlife nearly blocks them from getting in until V holds out the cake box to him and mentions who it’s sent by. The man whistles and backs away, letting them go through. “Nah, you deliver that yourself. Wouldn’t want to be found associated with him.”

V exchanges glances with Judy before they make their way into the club, the metal sheeting of the walls and low lights giving a distinctive blue sheen. Mercs of all types turn around to look at them, calculating, and V feels Judy shuffle slightly closer until they make their way to the bar. The tall bartender takes a look at them and the white box, and she shakes her head. “He keeps trying, huh?”

V eyes her, the dark red hair and friendly smile. “Who?”

“Some merc that went behind Rogue’s back during a gig to get more money from the client. Rogue not only refused to give him any more contracts, she got the rest of the fixers in Night City to freeze him out too. No one will touch him now. The guy is desperate if he thinks a cake will make up for it.” The bartender smiles, tilting her head. “I’m Claire, by the way. Want a drink on the house for courage?”

V shakes her head. “Just want to deliver this and get out.” 

“You’re brave. Or stupid. Always said the best mercs were a mix of both.” Claire shrugs. She glances over to the lounge ahead of them. “Looks like she’s free. Good luck to you both.” 

V nods in thanks before treading carefully towards the proclaimed queen of the Afterlife. She and Judy are stopped by a guard who blocks their way until V catches Rogue’s attention by raising the white box overhead. “Cake delivery.”

Rogue bristles, glancing at the guard before signalling for him to stand aside before looking at V. “Put that down. I’m going to scan it.” 

Sensible mercenary action. V agrees. 

She steps past the bouncer, Judy following in her wake, and places the box on the other side of the table from Rogue whose eyes light up with an orange glow. When she determines there’s nothing but a heart attack worth of sugar in the delivery box, Rogue frowns and gestures for V to bring it closer. “Who sent me this?” She sighs. “No, nevermind. I know exactly who it is.”

She unwraps the box to reveal a small cake with Jackie’s neat writing across the chocolate frosting in white piping that says, “Sorry I fucked up the gig :(“

V stifles a giggle when Rogue shoots her a look. “A for effort.” 

Rogue leans back, pulling out her gun. “Don’t take this personally. Nothing against your work.” She shoots the cake twice, blasting chunks of vanilla sponge and white chocolate Ganache across the table, splattering V’s face and the jacket of the guard behind her.

Judy peeks out over V’s shoulder where she had ducked behind her output. She brushes the specks of cake from V’s face. “Sorry. You’re just such a convenient shield.” 

Not the first time someone’s said that to her. 

Rogue reholsters, ignoring how everyone in Afterlife goes silent and watches her. “You did your job. You can go.” 

V nods, turning to head out with Judy trailing behind when Rogue stops her. “Wait.”

When V looks back, Rogue’s hard expression falters. “You did the run to Johnny Silverhand’s memorial? How was it?”

“Empty. Doesn’t seem like it gets many visitors.” V shrugs. “Kind of sad, to be honest.” 

“Much like its owner.” Rogue studies her. “Thanks. I appreciate you handling that personally without your driver.”

V opens her mouth before closing it and nodding.

“You know, something about you reminds of someone I used to know.” Rogue looks her over. “Shame you’re just a kid. Maybe if you were a little older.”

V shoots back. “Or if you were younger.”

Wait. 

She has to think about what was said.

Rogue asks, “How old are you anyway?”

“Twenty-sev—wait. What month is it?”

Judy growls, pulling her away. “Let’s go already.” 

They head out of Afterlife with both Claire and the bouncer giving her nods of acknowledgement, and V has no idea what she did to earn them. Maybe just surviving. V would give herself a pat on the back for that too.

“You’re pretty friendly with women, aren’t you?” Judy grits her teeth, looking straight ahead with her fists clenched.

V eyes her. She carefully replies, “I’m friendly with everyone. Helps with building contacts.”

“I get it. Biz is biz.” Judy turns when she reaches her van, jaw tight. “You gonna flirt with everyone that shows interest in you?”

“The clear answer is no, but that’s not what you’re asking.” V tilts her head. “What’s really bugging you?”

Exhaling loudly, Judy closes her eyes. After a moment, her shoulders slump. “Nothing. Just acting like a gonk. Sorry.” 

“Doesn’t seem like nothing.” V steps forward and rests a hand on Judy’s shoulder, who doesn’t meet her eyes. “Hey, I’m here to listen. Whenever you’re ready to share.”

Judy glances up, something soft in her eyes. “Thank you. Mean that, V.” She looks at V quietly for a moment before straightening up, brushing off the earlier jealousy as she makes her way to the driver’s seat. “You know, you have some weird acquaintances. Dunno anyone who shoots cakes.”

V pauses, halfway into the car. “Really? That’s where you draw the line?”

Judy drives V to Pacifica of all places, who nearly has a fit at the sight of the Grand Imperial Mall comes into view.

“Pacifica,” V hisses between her teeth.

“What is with you and this place?” Judy raises an eyebrow as she parks the van in front of the mall. “They did a renovation recently, and I thought we could check out the ride at the back.” 

“We have a bad history going back.” From the time she got a parking boot on her car to the entire-day wait for some lazy officer to come by and take it off. And the disgusting crab juice. “We are not friends.” 

“Sorry to hear that. Think you can stand it for a few minutes while we check out the roller coaster at the back?”

V inhales sharply, but she nods, puffing out her chest. “Y-yeah. Not a big deal. If that’s what you want to do.” 

Judy glances at her, but she leads them around the back where a polished track waits for them, the sign in front proclaiming a new and improved ride with 130% more acceleration. They pay for their tickets, and V keeps her eyes level, refusing to glance below the platform as they’re strapped in by the attendants. It should be somewhat concerning that they’re the only ones on the ride.

“You sure about this? Something feels off.” V pulls at the plastic harness down her torso. “Maybe we can find a nice carousel instead.”

Judy looks at her. “Didn’t realize you were scared. Probably should have mentioned that before we got on.”

V stiffens. “I am not. Just think we could have a better use of our time.” On the ground and not 130 meters in the air. “I mean, it’s not too late—”

The operators start the ride, and the cart jerks forward. V tenses, going, “Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck,” under her breath. The tram steadily climbs up to the first big slope, and V grabs Judy’s hand reflexively as the cart slowly tips over the top. “Oh, shiiiiiiiiiiit.”

V screams as the cart drops down repeatedly, swerving rapidly left, right, up and down while Judy laughs beside her. A massive loop-de-loop hits them, and V thinks she’s crushing her output’s fingers.

They’re about to go down another slope when the rollercoaster jerks to a stop halfway up. V gasps, glancing around. “What’s happening?”

“Think it’s busted.” Judy watches the attendants on the platform shouting at each other and running up and down, trying to find the electrical panel to fix it. “Yup, we’ll be here a while.”

V groans, “Why do I have the worst luck?”

“S’not all bad. You met me, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. And Jackie. And Vik and Misty.” V rubs her forehead. “Sorry. Just being a drama queen.” 

Judy shrugs. “Could be worse. We could be—”

“Don’t. It’s bound to come true if you say it.” V looks down and takes a rattling breath, grabbing on tightly to the harness. Great, suspended right over the water at the highest point. Could be worse. She could be dying and on a ride with an imaginary friend.

Judy studies her. “I didn’t realize you had a fear of heights.”

“I don’t. I have a fear of falling to my death.” V sucks in a breath. “I mean, from the height we’re at, the water will be like hitting concrete if we fell from here. Plus, there’s a reason my merc ass took gigs from the streets and stayed on the ground. So many things can go wrong if you fall from a building during a job.”

“Hey, look at me.” V feels the warmth of Judy’s hand around hers. “Focus on me and not about what you’re scared of.” Judy squeezes it, grounding V and bringing her down slightly from the edge of panic. “We got time. Tell me about the gigs you did—the strange, the sad, anything. Just look at me when you do so.”

V babbles on to Judy with anything that comes to her mind—the time she smuggled a live bird in a box across the badlands, the shady dealings with the NCPD under a bridge that V refused since it required wiping out people who had nowhere else to go, the guy with the malfunctioning implant somewhere down south. Judy asks questions to draw V’s attention to sections of her story, to draw her out, to get her to stop looking down because V feels like she’s going to retch.

They’re stuck on the rollercoaster for an hour and a half, and V has time to compile a thorough list of why she hates Pacfiica, reason number one being lousy rollercoaster maintenance. She supposes she can’t complain that much, since she also got a chance to hear the stories from Judy’s childhood—how a sense of quiet desperation hung over the town from the announcement of the dam until they were shoved from their land, how she always struggled to show affection as a child, especially to her crush. There’s a touch of wistful regret in Judy’s eyes as she recalls the memories, and V finds herself reaching out, stroking her arm in comfort with Judy glancing down at her hand and giving her a small smile.

At some point, the attendants end up doing an evacuation and send a giant bucket up the tracks to retrieve them along with two complimentary coupons for the syn-popcorn stand as an apology.

Judy pops a handful of the cajun-spiced ones into her mouth as they walk towards the front of the mall. “S’not bad.” 

V grumbles over her own bag of caramel corn. “Fucking Pacifica.” 

They walk around the boardwalk, finding a spot to sit along the concrete wall to stare out into the bay, a large sheet of water stretching out into the horizon. The bay almost looks brackish at times and beautifully blue at others, its temperament mercurial much like the city it borders.

“It’s unpredictable, huh?” Judy gazes out into the distance. “You think you’re starting to understand what it’s all about, and then it flips you upside down, leaving you clutching at straws and your shredded dreams.”

V raises an eyebrow before sitting down beside her, her thigh brushing against Judy’s, who presses back. “You okay?”

“Mmm...thinking about old memories. Old hopes. Old exes.” Judy pulls a knee to her chest, resting her head on it and turning to look at V. “You ever wish that things could have been different? That it would have worked out if you found a better way?”

V laughs. “Life is too short to wish for a better past. Even shorter as a merc where you’re not guaranteed to live through your gig. No time for regrets—just the pleasures of the moment in whatever poison you picked. Booze, drugs, women.” Her eyes meet Judy and flick away. “Bottom line is that if any of your past changed, you would be too, and I like you the way you are, Judy Alvarez.”

Judy’s eyes crinkle as a smile slowly spreads across her face. She has such a pretty one. Shame she never used it a lot before V. “Did you seriously use my full name?”

“Why not? Am I missing some words? Judith Maria Isabella Sophia—“

Judy smacks her arm. “That is not it.” She huffs in laughter. “You are a strange, strange gonk.”

“But your gonk, right?”

“Mine.” Judy reaches over to squeeze V’s thigh. “Absolutely mine.” She sighs, “Though if we keep getting interrupted, I don’t know what I’d do. Pop, maybe.”

V can see Judy exploding. “I’m kind of surprised you haven’t been more frisky today.”

Judy stiffens. “I have some self-control when it comes to you, y’know.”

No, she doesn’t.

Her output hops off the ledge, depositing her empty popcorn back into the nearest trash bin. “Better get going. Got a few more spots for us to hit up.” 

V trails behind her, shoving her own bag into the trash. “Can I at least know what’s else on your to-do list beside me?”

Judy spins around and places a finger gently on V’s lips. She winks. “It’s a surprise.” 

“Tease.”

“You ain’t seen nothing yet.” Smiling, Judy walks away, watching her over one shoulder, and V is a weak, weak woman when it comes to pretty girls. She follows promptly after.

They drive up to Haywood where Judy was recommended to a restaurant that serves authentic Spanish cuisine, only to find it shut down with a handful of cops around a white chalk outline. Not even that surprising, considering it’s Haywood. 

Judy scratches her head. “I didn’t think so many things could go wrong on one date.” She crosses her arms. “Gotta find another option then.”

V admits that the yellow tape around the crime scene did nothing for building a romantic atmosphere. She peers closer and recognizes one of the officers. “River!”

River glances up at his name and smiles when he sees V. He rises from where he’s examining blood spots on the ground and trots over, expression faltering when he sees the fierce look on Judy’s face. “Hey, V. Good to see you. Who’s this?”

“This is Judy, my output.” 

River quickly takes a step back. “Good to meet you.” 

Judy looks over him coolly. “Charmed.”

“Uh…” River turns towards V. “So, how are things at work? Got a ton of orders?”

“Yeah, Kerry and Evelyn keep talking about our bakery to their fans, and I’m fairly certain there’s an element of sadism there.” V rubs her nape. “Just gets overwhelming sometimes. Wouldn’t mind a break.”

Judy nudges her. “Which is why we’re on a date.” She looks pointedly at River who holds up his hands placatingly.

A message rings on River’s phone, and his eyebrows raise when he reads it. 

V asks, “What’s up?”

“Uh...just got something to do. My sister Joss asked me to grab some takeout for tonight’s dinner.” He smiles awkwardly, and there’s a note of uncertainty in his tone.

V arches an eyebrow. “You sure? Seems like it’s something else.”

“Nope. Can’t imagine what it’d be.” He edges away. “Well, gotta go grab that thing I said. See you, V.” 

He darts off towards his car, and V watches him go. That was strange.

Once he’s out of sight, Judy exhales and runs her hands through her hair. “Sorry. I get...possessive sometime.” She clears her throat. “My ex used to be pretty chummy with some of her coworkers and bosses and would always say it was me when I pointed it out. Turns out she was blowing and eating them out on the side, so she could cinch the next promotion.”

V’s lip curls, disgust roiling in her stomach. “Is she still in town?”

“Why?”

“So, you can point me in the right direction to break her face.” V shakes her head. “I’m sorry she did that to you, Judy. She’s a shitbag, and you deserved better. You’re leagues above her in class alone.” She pauses. “Seriously, can I hurt her?”

Judy shakes her head. “Don’t bother. Shouldn’t stoop to her level, but…” She glances down briefly. “Thank you. Don’t think I ever had someone other than Evelyn defend my honour.” 

“Shouldn’t need to. Your gonk ex should know better than to ever treat you that way.” V glances across the street, noting the buffalo skull hanging below the Coyote Cojo sign. “How about we make a change of plans? I know the owner there.” When Judy agrees, V leads her to the bar. “I saw that you didn’t really like River. What do you have against him anyway?”

Judy shrugs. “Dunno. Just didn’t want him looking at you the way I do.” 

V pauses before the doors that lead to Coyote Cojo. “He does what now?”

Judy rolls her eyes and pushes V in. “Perception isn’t your forte, mi calabacita.” 

The bar is exactly as she remembers it, the bright reddish glow of the overhead lights casting everything in warm shades while the green backlighting of the bar catches her attention. The bartender waves to her as she approaches him, his friendly, familiar face a welcomed sight. 

A woman calls out to her from her left. “V! About time you visited. ¿Dónde demonios has estado?”

V turns to see Mama Welles standing there with her hands on her hips. “Sorry, been busy but wanted to pop by while I had the chance.”

Mama Welles nods before turning to Judy and gasping, “And who is this? Is this your date?”

Judy steps forward, holding out her hand. “Hola, señorita. Me llamo Judy Alvarez. Tienes un lugar encantador aquí.”

Mama Welles smiles brightly as she shakes Judy’s hand. She looks at V. “You better not let this one go.” She turns back to Judy, entering a Spanish conversation with questions firing so quickly, V’s translator has trouble keeping up. “Que gusto de verlo. ¿De dónde eres? ¿Qué edad tienes? ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños? Te gustan los chilaquiles?”

When Judy looks like she can hold her own, V’s eyes trail towards the bar, crossing the floor to plop herself in front of the bartender, who grins at her. “Been a long time since I’ve seen you here. I heard you’re a big-shot baker now.”

“Pepe, don’t you start giving me shit too.”

He pours her a shot from her favourite Centzon bottle. “Still drink tequila?”

V tosses it back. “You’re the best.” She grumbles, “Just haven’t had a chance to party in a while.” So many things catch on fire in the kitchen when she’s drunk, dammit.

Pepe glances over to where Judy and Mama Welles are talking. “Glad to see you got a girl. Mama Welles and I were talking about setting you up if you dragged your feet any longer on finding someone. Have a nice cousin that does frozen syn-pea testing that might have liked you.”

V shudders. “No thanks.”

“Suit yourself.” Pepe shrugs. “How is it going with her?”

“Good, I think. Dunno. Never really thought about this relationship thing.” V furrows her brows. “Have any tips?”

“As a man with a happy, ten-year marriage, I can tell you three things that will make your life easier: collaboration, communication, and saying that she’s always right.” 

V frowns. “Wait, how does the last one work?”

“The rules of women. Don’t ask me how it works. I just know it saved my ass many times.” He pours her another shot, which V takes. “Try it out if you don’t believe me.”

There’s no way that would w—

“Hey!” Judy comes over, eyeing V and the shot glass in her hand. “Think that’s enough. Don’t want you getting wasted too early tonight.”

“I’m not—” V glances over at Pepe who nods cautiously. “—I mean, you’re right. I should stop.”

Judy smiles, patting V on the cheek. “That’s my girl.” She turns to look at an approaching Mama Welles while Pepe gives V a double thumb’s up. 

She pushes the glass towards him and slaps down a handful of eddies for the drink as well as a generous tip when Mama Welles sits beside V.

“I like this one. Don’t mess it up.” Mama Welles’ eyes crinkle. “And bring her for dinner sometime.”

Noted.

“That said, we should talk about the mess of paperwork you left in your office. What is this? Why are piles of paper everywhere? Why is the accounting so bad?’

“But Jackie does it.”

Mama Welles throws up her hands. “Why would you think that would be a good idea?”

V closes her mouth. She doesn’t have an answer.

“Also, your bank statements. What the hell are these receipts for? Have you heard of organizing by month and expense type?” Mama Welles’ phone rings, and she glances at it, eyes popping open at the message. “Oh, I need to leave, V, but we work on your bills and payroll when we get back. ¿Comprende?”

V contemplates the tempting thought of dying versus sitting through an accounting lecture, but she nods dutifully as Mama Welles rushes out of the bar. Judy slinks up next to her, resting with crossed arms on the round table. “So, she seems nice. Invited me to dinner and all.” She glances up at V, tone casual. “You mind?”

“Nah, her tamales are to die for.” V scratches her nose. “You hungry?”

“I can wait. Did you want to grab something or head out?”

V shakes her head. “I’m good. Can we stop by Vik’s real quick though if we’re heading back to Watson? Just wanted to check in on him.” And maybe get a tune-up real quick. Kiroshi optics keep turning on and off randomly for some reason.

Judy agrees and drives them over to Chinatown. V frowns when she sees that Misty's Esoterica is locked down for the day. “That’s weird. She’s never closed.” 

She guides Judy around the side gate and down the alley where they find Vik at the front of his clinic. 

He pauses, halfway done closing up his gates. “I’m closing up early.”

V’s eyes narrow. “Why? You never do that. You’d sleep at the clinic if Misty didn’t force you to go home.” 

“I have a life.” Vik quickly ushers them out. “Now, I gotta get to it. See you.” He closes the door in their faces.

“Okay, that is, like, three people I know who are acting sketchy as fuck.” V points out. “What the hell is going on, and are we supposed to be evacuating right now?”

“Dunno.” Judy ducks her head. “Full moon?”

V’s eyes narrow. “You hiding something from me?”

“Why would you think that?”

“Cause you’re a shit liar, Jude.”

Judy strolls ahead, not looking back. “I’ll tell you in a bit. We gotta swing by your workplace first. Forgot something there.”

V glances her over. “Like what? The other buckle to your overalls?”

Judy rolls her eyes. “Just shut up and get in the car.”

They hop in the van, and they head back to Kabuki Market with V growing more suspicious the closer they get. “The fact that you haven’t tried to nail me once in your van is strange.”

“You make me out like I’m some sort of gonk who can’t keep it in their pants.”

Based on their last couple of dates…

“Seriously, something’s up with you. You almost seem distracted.” V considers for what reason Judy could be driving her back to work. “The bakery’s on fire, isn’t it?”

“It’s not. Stop predicting the worst will happen before it does.”

V doesn’t know. It’s kept her alive in mercenary work and the baked goods industry so far. “Are you sure it’s not a little flaming?

“What? Like you?” Judy pats V on the shoulder. “Relax. I’m getting second-hand anxiety because you’re getting wound up.” 

Fuck, the building’s probably smoking or something.

V bites her lip and stares out the window, trying to recall if they have an updated fire safety plan and if everyone knows where the emergency exits are.

“Stop thinking so much.” Judy parks the van and hops, and V follows suit, squinting at the bakery and wondering why it’s closed early. “Around the back. You got your key?”

V hands it over, moving through the alley to the back door like she’s expecting an ambush to jump out of the dumpster. She shuffles along the wall, pistol out, looking all around her. Judy raises an eyebrow when she looks back just as she reaches the back door. “You can put that away. The mixer isn’t going to shoot you.”

So Judy says. V reluctantly tucks it away as Judy opens the door, stepping into darkness, and V follows, hand still on the grip.

The lights flick on, and there’s a line of her coworkers, friends, and acquaintances shouting, “Surprise!” in a cacophony of mis-timed cries. A party popper booms out like a gunshot. V’s fighting instincts kick in. 

She dives, rolling along the floor and landing on one shoulder before using the momentum to launch herself onto her feet and pull out her gun in one movement. “Who are we fighting?”

Panam snorts. “No, dumbass. It’s your birthday.”

“Who are we fighting on my birthday?”

Jackie gently lays a hand on her arm. “Relax. There’s no firefight. Just a little surprise for our best choom.” He slowly prises the pistol away. “Breathe, chica.”

V practices the deep breathing exercises Misty forced her to learn a few months ago, and she feels her shoulders softening, muscles unwinding. “Okay, sorry. Old habits.” She runs her hands through her hair. “Right, so what day is it today?”

Kerry scoffs in the back. “For Christ’s sakes, V. You forgot when you were born?”

V doesn’t even know what day of the week it is. “So, October 12th then?”

Jackie shakes his head, putting a hand on V’s back and guiding her to the steel table at the centre of the room. “You work too hard. That’s why we’re throwing you a party.”

Misty and Vik stand in front of her, smiling with Vik clapping her on the shoulder before they step away from each other, revealing a massive cake with an icing version of V’s face on the white frosting. “Jackie and I made it while you were out,” Misty explains as she hands V a blade. 

V’s not sure how she feels about taking a knife to her own face. She hands it over to Jackie. “You do it.”

When Jackie takes it and neatly cuts into the cake, V turns to Judy. “You were in on this.”

Judy shrugs, holding up both hands. “Surprised I managed to distract you for so long. You’re right. I am a shit liar.”

Jackie hands her a piece of red velvet. “You didn’t make it easy to plan for you, chica. You practically share the cot with Panam.” He sweeps one arm across the entire room. “It was crazy getting everyone here, but we managed to invite all of your amigos.”

Takemura pipes up. “I am not your friend.” He sits down, sipping at a steaming drink in a round porcelain cup. “But I did return for this tea.” 

Rolling his eyes, Jackie moves on. “Anyway, we just wanted to throw something together for you. You got a lot of people who care about you. Hope you never forget that.”

“How can I?” V shakes her head. “You guys would never let me.”

Kerry steps up. “Awesome, now that the touchy-feely stuff is over with, how about some booze to go with dessert?”

The party is utter chaos, as is expected. Vik does a check-up on the spot on V while Misty does a reading for an intrigued Takemura. Panam and River try out Kerry’s blackmarket vodka, and Jackie keeps turning up the volume of the music so much that V can barely hear Mama Welles scolding her from across the room. Through it all, Judy stays by her side, even as someone hits Takemura in the back of head with a piece of cake, and a murderous food fight breaks out in the kitchen—a lot like a normal one but with a lot more choke holds and throws. 

The night goes on, and, soon the party dies down, everyone walking out with various specks of cake and bruises on them. They clap V on the arm and wish her happy birthday when they leave with only Misty, Vik, and Jackie staying behind. 

Vik takes a look at her and shakes his head. “Go home. You’re dead on your feet.”

“No, I’m—” V yawns. “—maybe a little.”

Jackie winks as he pushes a white box towards her. “And that one is for you two when you’re alone. Thought it might jog some memories.”

V groans. “Can’t we just forget that whole thing?”

“Nope.” He shoves it into her arms. “Enjoy!” He leaves her by herself as he goes to clean up the kitchen. 

Swaying, V places the cake beside her on the counter as her head droops.

Coming up to her, Judy nudges her with her shoulder. “C’mon, I’ll take you home. You look like you might fall asleep, and you are not spending a night on the cot again.”

V nods, eyes fluttering close. She sways as she follows Judy to her van, thinking about the entire day and all of its weird happenings. Well, normal for her. “With all of the chaos in my life, how do you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Put up with everything.” V rubs one eye with the heel of her palm, stopping when Judy turns and smiles at her.

“You’re worth it.” She heads out the door. “Never a doubt in my mind.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _¿Dónde demonios has estado?_ = "Where the hell have you been?"
> 
>  _Me llamo Judy Alvarez. Tienes un lugar encantador aquí_ = "My name is Judy Alvarez. You have a lovely place here."
> 
>  _Que gusto de verlo. ¿De dónde eres? ¿Qué edad tienes? ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños? Te gustan los chilaquiles?_ = "Good to see you. Where are you from? How old are you? When is your birthday? Do you like chilaquiles?"


	6. Never Fade Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> V gets tired of the bakery’s shenanigans and their impact on her relationship. She figures out a solution.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter! I actually finished this one first before chapter 5, but I realized that there should be one more to bring everyone together first. Hope you guys enjoy it!
> 
> Thank you to Halifax for her constant support, feedback, and suggestions.
> 
> Note: I went as weird as narratively possible while still making some kind of sense for this. Thanks for joining me on this wild, wild ride. Special thanks to greendotsandwords for the Adam Smasher and cake idea they jokingly suggested.

V is convinced that the bakery is cursed.

After the birthday party, her friends go on to attend to their lives. Kerry’s gone on tour with the Us Cracks for a few weeks. He still keeps blowing up her phone with stills and videos of the musicians while River’s taken time off to spend it with his family, specifically with his nephew who seems a little lost. Takemura actually hit her up with an idea for the two of them to go touring Night City for serviceable food and create a video channel for it with V doing all of the tech work because uploading vids confuses him. Panam took vacation to go back to her clan and yell at the leader about the direction of the clan’s future. The cake orders have calmed down enough that V and Jackie can go home at closing, and V can actually see Judy outside of work though they always get interrupted by V’s phone, an order, or Panam starting a fight with some cops.

When V mentions how busy their lives have become to Jackie, he slaps her on the back. “This is it, chica. We’re hitting the big leagues now. Even celebrities are starting to show up at our door.”

Yeah, because Kerry can’t shut up about it. “I don’t know, Jack. It just feels like work is interfering with my personal life.”

V feels terrible watching Judy head home like a scorned dog whenever V has to leave her to rescue Panam from a firefight or help River out with tracking drugs in muffins. Judy waits patiently until V calls the next day, and even V can see that she is dying for a moment alone, no matter how much she tries to subtly hide it with her teases and desperate pushes into secluded corners.

“I just… I don’t know. You ever get the feeling that some things are too good to last? That something great and terrible is coming?”

Jackie rolls his eyes. “Relax. You ain’t a merc anymore. Don’t gotta put up a fight no more. And look at us. We’re getting the recognition we always wanted. What could go wrong from here?”

The next morning, a chrome-plated woman wearing a cap pulled over her eyes strolls into their shop, her shoulders hunched in as if trying not to draw attention. There’s something unnerving in her gaze—dead, robotic. “I have a special request.”

V glances back at the kitchen, thinking about hollering for Jackie with the odd tingles crawling up her neck. “What is it?” She squints at the designer clothes, the familiar face. “Wait, are you—”

“Yes, Lizzy Wizzy.” The woman sighs, pulling off her cap. “I know this disguise wouldn’t work.”

No shit when you’re covered completely in chrome and also a superstar music phenomenon. 

“Anyway,” Lizzy’s eyes flicker, “I would like you to make a replica of my boyfriend’s spine, so I can break it.”

O...kay. “I...uh...think that’s a therapy thing, not a bakery one.”

“I see. So, when can you get it to me?”

V sighs, “So, listen, Crazy—“

“Lizzy.”

“Fine. Lizzy. Shove your request where the sun don’t shine. This is our store, and we say whom we serve and what orders we take. That’s a bit too creepy for our taste.” It’s up there with that super weird request by an Adam Smasher that V instantly deleted.

Lizzy’s eyes flash blue. “I see. If it wasn’t yours, you would listen.” She walks away, muttering to herself as V feels something cold creep down her back. She hopes nothing comes of it.

Several days later, Jackie closes the storefront early, hands wrenching at his apron. “So, amiga. Bad news.” He takes a breath. “You know Lizzy Wizzy? She kind of owns us now.” Jackie scratches his head. “New head honcho.”

V drops a tray of leftover croissants, pastries bouncing across the floor. “Wha—how the fuck did that happen?”

Jackie looks guilty. “I might have started selling stocks when we got to doing so well.”

“Sto—seriously, Jackie? How the hell do we have stock?” 

“Investors wanted to buy into us.” Jackie shrugs. “Lizzy Wizzy is one.” His eyes light up. “You won’t believe who the other is. Johnny Silverhand!”

Oh, the not-dead guy? “I visited the grave of his musical career.” V sighs, “So, maybe Silverhand can buy out Lizzy Wizzy. How am I supposed to find him?” 

Jackie gets excited. “Oh, you can call Kerry! He might know!” When V stares blankly at him, he groans. “Really, chica? He was one of the guitarists for Samurai! I talk about him all the time!”

V blinks. “Right.” She kind of forgot Kerry was a famous musician and not a PR-wannabe who keeps blowing up her phone for a second there. “Guess I’ll see how he’s doing.”

Kerry is bouncing off the walls when V calls. “Dude, we’re about to go on-stage and show off our new hit—a collaboration between me and the Us Cracks with themes of rock and Japanese pop!”

“That’s nice. Hey, Kerry? Do you have Johnny Silverhand’s contact details on you by any chance?”

Kerry scowls. “What do you want that grumpy bastard’s number for?” 

“Well, there’s this thing with the bakery, though if you could help—“

Kerry glances up, looking at someone. “Shit, that’s my cue. Gotta go! Will forward you the detes when I have the chance!” He happily hangs up on her.

V looks at Jackie who still seems a little starstruck. “He’s busy. Might get us the info.”

Jackie shrugs. “Worth texting him for help.”

V nods, firing off a text to Kerry about their situation. “Okay, plan B?”

“Hit up Rogue, I guess?” Jackie heads to the computer and pulls up the customer profile database. “Okay, got her number. You...uh...you call, chica. I think she saw me with Panam once.” 

Rogue is not helpful when they call. “The hell I know where he is. Look, kid. You’re cute, but you’re pushing it.” She sighs, putting down a glass of bright golden liquor, the steel panelling of Afterlife glinting around her.

“You had a memorial for his career.” V points out.

“Because I knew what happened to it.” Rogue pinches the bridge of her nose, the authentic leather covering behind her a rarity in NUSA. “Look, what reason would I even give any of this info to you even if I had it?”

V opens and closes her mouth. “The goodness of your heart?”

Rogue hangs up.

Jackie waves it off. “That’s okay. We got other leads.”

V points out that Misty is not a lead when Jackie texts her the situation, asking her for a tarot card reading. “How the heck would that help?”

“Hey, can’t hurt. Misty’s pretty spot-on with her predictions, y’know.”

His phone rings a minute later, and Misty appears on the screen. Her eyebrows look singed. “So, guys, bad news. I tried doing a tarot card reading for what’ll happen with the bakery, but my deck exploded. It’s never happened before.”

V scowls. “Great.” Fucking curse. “Can it at least tell us where to start looking?”

“Uh…” Misty hovers the phone over the burnt pieces of cards lodged in the wall. “Don’t think it can, V.”

Right. Back to Rogue.

“You morons again?” Rogue looks exasperated. V wonders why she keeps picking up. Maybe old people are just lonely. “If I send the coordinates and remind you not to say anything about where they came from, can you leave me alone?”

“You have our word, senorita.” Jackie pauses. “Coordinates? Is he still in Night City?”

Rogue scoffs, looks away. “Bastard never left.” 

V glances at her phone. “Where are they?”

Rogue smiles before disconnecting. “I never said I would send them to you directly.”

When the phone goes silent, V and Jackie look at each other. V exhales. “Guess we got to sit tight until Johnny Silverhand comes over.”

Jackie nods. “Think he’ll sign this shirt I have of Kerry?”

V and Jackie are still at the bakery hours later, wondering why Johnny is taking his sweet-ass time to show up when their new boss decides to visit instead.

Lizzy enters through the front doors, trying to look discrete with a $50,000 hoodie and gold shoes. Still, she does better than Kerry at blending in. “So, listen. Since I am the new management and all, I’m thinking of doing some rebranding.” She purses her lips. “I am thinking of renaming the shop to Lizzy’s Bakery.”

Great, now people can go from Lizzy’s Bakery right to Lizzie’s Bar and vice versa.

She continues, “And maybe some uniforms for you that represent the gradual consumption of small-time business owners in the hostile markets of marginal and capital gains.” She flicks her hair back. “Something artistic to represent the social and moral poverty that the masses find themselves in. And that can fit into a four minute song.”

V stares before grabbing Jackie and pulling him to the side, excusing themselves. “Hey Jack, you ever think about retiring from this bakery biz? I mean, the cute pastries are nice, but I’m kind of tired of the shootouts, the drug cartels, the cake bombs, the kidnapping, the rapid stock transactions, the forced music collaborations...just starting to get a little burnt out from the baked goods industry, y’know?”

Jackie glances over to Lizzy who mutters about having the background be painted with images of broken spines. “Nonsense, V. We’re just experiencing a rough patch, but nothing we can’t work through together. Now, more importantly, when are you going to give your output some of that lady loving she’s dying for? Seriously, watching her hurts me sometimes.”

V rubs her temples. “It’s none of your business, Jack.”

“It is when she’s in here all the time, dying like that plant you never remember to water.” V has a plant? “That woman is hungry, chica. She’s getting desperate.” He shakes his head. “You can’t imagine what people will do when they’re starving like that.” He slings an arm around her shoulders. “Lemme give you some tips.”

“No thanks. Last time you tried to give me tips, there was a bomb.” V goes silent before sighing, “I feel bad, Jackie. It feels like every time we have some alone time, we get interrupted by work, and Judy goes away pretty steamed. Honestly, not sure why she’s still around.”

“The power of thirst.” He pats her arm. “Just bad luck, chica. Things will turn around. Mark my words. Either that, or she finally leaves you for someone who can pay attention for five seconds.”

“Thanks.”

Lizzy’s voice cuts in. “I don’t pay you to stand around and chit-chat.”

V snarls, opening her mouth to retort when Jackie jerks her around to face Lizzy. He grins. “We’re just trying to figure out how to get V’s output some luck in the future. You know, the mood boosting kind.”

“Oh.” Lizzy flicks her gaze over V. “Have you considered replacing her organs with chrome?”

V’s phone buzzes with an unknown number that tells her to come outside. Between a potential kidnapping attempt and Lizzy Wizzy’s romantic advice, V happily excuses herself to leave the building. 

A Porsche with an ancient design rolls up in front of the bakery, the person inside gesturing for V to enter. V glances back at the bakery to hear Jackie arguing with Lizzy about whether to stage a music video inside the shop involving a meat suit, and V’s in the car before the person has to repeat themself. 

She slips inside, startled at the sight of an older gentleman with angry eyes and grey streaks shooting through his black beard and hair. “Are you fucking V?”

“Nah, I got my output to do that for me.” Her grin slides off her face. “Actually, no, I don’t.”

The man snorts. “Great. A financial loser and a virgin. Just my luck.” 

“Hey! I am not—”

“Johnny Silverhand.” He jabs her in the chest, his cigarette close to scorching her. “I heard from my contact that someone stole your biz in a hostile takeover.”

“You mean Rogue?” V squints. “Why do you have stock in a bakery anyway?”

“Let’s just say I like to invest in potential assets. And, also, she really dislikes your deliverywoman.” He huffs on the remnants of his cigarette before flicking it out the window. The car peels away from the store.

V studies him. “You’ve been some kind of merc since your music career died?”

The Porsche skids across the street as Johnny jerks the wheel. “My career is not dead. It just...hasn’t restarted is all.” Johnny shakes his head. “Band wasn’t the same after Kerry left, and I went to hunt my nemesis. Sometimes, it feels like I’ve been sleeping for fifty years, and this city just gets worse and worse.”

V nods along. Old man rambling. “So, what do you want from us if we work together?”

“My fee, when we succeed, is your help in taking down my greatest enemy.”

“Tact and decorum?”

“Adam Smasher,” Johnny snarls. “I’ll tell you upfront that I want no part of anything to do with him. If you’re being propositioned by Smasher, you’re fuck out of luck. Man is a beast, willing to hunt you down to the ends of the earth for what he wants. In that case, you’re on your own.”

Why does that name sound so familiar? “What’s your deal with him?”

“Back in 2023, my band and I released an album called ‘The Tower’, and when he had more brains than he does now, he was a renowned music critic. But he hated me and everything I stood for. He—“

“Bombed your album.”

“And my reputation.”

RIP, Johnny’s career. “So, you‘ve been after him all this time?”

“Yeah, but he went to Arasaka right after, and he’s pretty well protected and funded by their Employee Wellness Program.”

“...their what?”

He exhales loudly. “Their attempt to introduce various hobbies to their employees to promote a work-life balance. Requirement is to do part-time work unrelated to your main role or else you risk discipline. Smasher is a music reviewer in his spare time. The tasteless bastard.” 

...well, that explains Takemura. “Right, so how are we gonna do this?”

“Let’s blow up Arasaka tower.”

“How will that help?”

“It’ll serve as a message to capitalistic greed. Plus, we get to bomb a megacorp.”

V inhales deeply. “I’m starting to rethink this whole thing. Let me out.”

“No, I can help.”

“How? We gonna try to bomb Lizzy Wizzy?”

“Yeah! Bomb the fuck out of her.” Johnny raises a fist.

“No! I just want her to sell her shares back to us.”

“How? You got the dough?” Johnny snorts as he glances her up and down. “Wouldn’t bet on it with your threads.”

Jesus. This grumpy old fuck. “Can you?”

“Nope. Spent all I wanted on your crappy place.”

“Okay then, I’m out.” V opens the car door, calculating how much Johnny has to slow down for her to tuck and roll.

“Siddown. I’m going to be serious here.” Johnny takes a wide left turn. “The reason why she was able to steal your gig is because your desserts lack soul. Where’s your passion? Where’s your principal?”

“They’re cakes.” 

“Soulless ones. You got no heart.” Sneering, Johnny whips around. “We gotta do something about your sellout soul if we want to get your shop back. Or get you laid. Chicks dig rebels with principles. And rebels sell like hotcakes. And get laid like ones too.”

“I don’t—I can’t…” V’s not sure what part of anything Johnny said made sense. 

He slows down on a random street. “Nice meeting you. I’ll be in touch. And by that, I mean I’ll be stalking you, popping in when you least expect it. Constant vigilance and shit. You gotta expect sudden intrusions when you’re dealing with Adam Smasher,” he growls.

Great. V gets out as Johnny drives off, noting that she’s near her Megabuilding when her phone rings. She answers to see Judy smiling on her screen. “Hey, I missed you. Wanna bang tonight?’

“You mean hang tonight?”

“Yeah, sorry. What did I say?” She coughs. “See you soon?”

“I”ll be home in twenty.” 

Judy shows up half an hour later, brushing right up against V as she enters the apartment. “Was dying to see you. Been thinking about you all day.” Her fingers trail across V’s hips before she makes her way to the couch. “Got an idea for a movie tonight. Second time’s the charm, right?”

V blinks, shaking her head as if waking up from a stupor. “Uh...sure. Whatever you want.”

She has no idea what the movie is about, because Judy presses herself right up against her, tongue running around the edge of V’s ear a few minutes in, hand sneaking under her shirt. Somehow, V gets the impression that Judy’s a little distracted. “You all right there? I’m starting to think you didn’t come over for the movie.”

“V, how much more obvious can I make it about what I want?”

V turns, and Judy lunges forward, kissing her with a growl in her throat and pushing her down. Some stupid competitive instinct kicks in. V twists at the last second and pins Judy to her couch, smirking. She notices a flush spreading across down Judy’s face, her breathing becoming ragged. Judy shifts her hips, rolling them between V’s. V’s thoughts sizzle out. Holy shit.

Judy flicks her gaze up and down. “You gonna do something?”

“Uh…” V’s still processing what’s happened.

“No? Allow me then.” Judy grabs V’s shirt, and yanks her down. V’s not sure who moans when their mouths connect as Judy deepens the kiss, growing rough, hungry. Panting. Moaning. V breaks away and runs her tongue along Judy’s jawline, ending with her mouth on Judy’s earlobe. Judy lets out a high-pitched groan, fingers clawing along V’s back, digging into her hair.

When Judy exhales sharply, V pulls back, stunned at how she looks, pupils blown, hair mussed in a messy halo around her face. Pushing V back slightly, Judy sits up and pulls off her shirt, watching V instantly lock her gaze on her skin. There’s something flickering in Judy’s expression, a hesitancy that V doesn’t expect, and she reaches out to squeeze her hand. Judy’s eyes wrinkle. She reaches out, playing with the hem of V’s shirt before slowly running a hand inside, fingers brushing along bare skin, expression tentative in that odd, fragile way of hers. “If you want to stop, lemme know now.”

V shakes her head. “I want—” 

Then, Johnny barges in through her door. “Constant vigilance, asshole. And another thing about your cakes—” He pauses. “Oh, fuck. Haven’t you heard of making sure people can’t get in? Your security’s shit.”

“What the f—?” V jumps up. “Get out of here!”

Johnny glances at Judy. “Nice tits. Mean that genuinely.”

Judy launches herself towards him, one arm across her chest. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”

V grabs her around the waist, digging her heels in to hold back her irate output. “Just go already!”

Johnny ducks out while Judy is still snarling, face twisted with her teeth bared. She quickly deflates, sitting upright on the couch before dropping her head down into her hands and crying.

“Uh...you okay?” 

“I was so close. Why do we always get fucking interrupted?” Judy wipes at her eyes, mascara leaving dark streaks down her cheeks. “For Christ’s sake, who did I piss off in a past life?”

Judy’s inconsolable, and V spends an uncomfortable amount of time rubbing circles into her back. When Judy leaves to wash her face, V sneaks Evelyn’s number from Judy’s phone, hoping that she might be able to help out.

Evelyn agrees to meet her the next day, and they convene at a cafe in North Oak with Evelyn now sporting dark hair and golden sunglasses. Must have taken a leaf out of Kerry’s book. “Judy?”

“Judy.” V nods. She glances at her hands. “So, I have this problem…”

“Say no more. I know what it is.” Evelyn takes off her sunglasses, fixing V with the intense stare that won her a local award. “Remember when we first met, I had asked for a glass of water for Judy? What I’m asking now is the same idea. Judy is thirsty. So much that I’m hurting because she keeps calling me about this. This is where you come in. You can quench that desert-deep need of hers. You can bring in the rain and make flowers bloom. You can get her to stop complaining about the same damn thing everyday because you two keep getting interrupted. You are the rain, V. Bring it to Judy.”

V got confused with all the metaphors. “Does...she need water?”

“Oh, for—take her to bed already. I’m feeling empathy frustration just by being around her.” Evelyn rubs her temples. “Christ. Look, there’s a cabin near the dam past Ranchero Coronado that means a lot to her. Invite her out there, fuck her till she’s speechless, and bring her back. That clear enough? I’ll even send you directions to make it easier.” 

V nods, already taking notes. Evelyn shortly leaves after to go to a nearby audition, and V walks out of that meeting, mentally adding, “Do Judy” to her to-do list. She pauses before she highlights it as ‘urgent.’ Goddamn, does she have a long list. She still needs to figure out how to get the bakery back. 

Reluctantly, she calls that asswipe Johnny to see if he came up with anything new. He somewhat apologizes for intruding on her and Judy. “Still trying to impress your chick? Here, I’ll write you a fucking poem: Roses are red, lemons are sour, let’s go bomb Arasaka tower.”

Jesus, how was Johnny ever a record-breaking rockstar? 

“Look, for your store, it’s simple. Get someone to catch your boss’ attention, and she’ll forget about the bakery. Easy peasy.” He waves his hand. “Whatever that chromed-up doll is into.”

“You have an idea?”

“Someone as freakishly metallic as her?” Johnny shrugs. “If I think of something else, I’ll call ya.”

They hang up with V wondering where she’s going to find someone that could possibly capture the weird interest of Lizzy. Maybe someone who’s anti-establishment as she tries to be? Maybe Kerry has some strange celebrity friends that are looking for a slightly murderous hook-up? 

She quickly forgets when Judy texts her, mentioning that she misses her. V pauses, thinking about what Evelyn said, before inviting Judy out for the night for a surprise. Judy agrees and says she’ll swing by V’s place in a bit.

V hangs up, scrambling to pull up Evelyn’s coordinates and taking her gun just in case. She’s paranoid like that.

Judy arrives quickly, peering after V curiously as she leads them to the parking garage. “Whaddya have in mind?”

“A trip down memory lane.” V smiles, opening the door for Judy who climbs in. When Judy looks away, V turns around and spams Evelyn for help. Evelyn replies with a “Just fuck her” as if that’s the simplest answer. 

Goddamn, that shit isn’t that easy.

Is it?

V chatters away as they drive there, Judy more than happy to just talk about anything even as she reaches over and lays a hand on V’s thigh. As they drive away from the central hub of Night City towards the outskirts, Judy turns her eyes outwards, surprise and something almost like awe in her face as they drive off of the highway down a dusty, dirty road with old, wet garbage scattered on either side. 

They stop in front of an old cottage, the wood faded from the passing years’ touch of sunlight and exposure with an ancient but serviceable car in the front. Judy climbs out with a flickering expression, wavering. “How do you know about this place?” Her voice is rough, a little cracked.

“I have my sources.” V glances at her phone where Evelyn is still silent. Despite having set everything up, she left V hanging. To quote Judy, she’s dead to V too. “Let’s uh...let’s head inside.” 

The interior is quaint, littered with remnants and memories of an earlier time—books from half a century ago, dishes and glasses gently gathering dust on the kitchen counter. A worn couch sits at the far end of the room, well-used and well-loved while a door to V’s side shows off a bedroom with a rather large mattress. She hears a click behind her and whips out her gun, fixing it automatically on Judy who bolts the door close. “Shit, sorry. Habit.”

“No problem, V. Just thought we should get some privacy in case someone drops in.”

V raises an eyebrow. “Really think someone would do that in the middle of nowhere?”

Judy shakes her head. “With you, I learn not to doubt anything.” Hesitating, she reaches out and takes V’s hand, sending V’s heartbeat soaring like an aircraft taking off. “So...what now?”

“Apparently, I…” V glances at her phone, checking Evelyn’s instructions. Still the same as last time. Crap. 

Judy sighs, looking at the device in V’s hand. “Attached to you, isn’t it? Is it work again?”

“What? No, no.” V tucks her phone into her back pocket. “No, I was just...buying time.”

“For?” Judy pulls away, stepping into the centre of the room. “Sometimes, you’re not here. Not just physically but mentally too. So consumed with what’s happening with your biz that I wonder if you would even notice if I leave.”

“Of course, I would. I don’t want the headaches that come with running the store.” What a stupid idea to open a bakery in the first place. It was almost like Jackie and her were on drugs. “And I wouldn’t trade work for you. I just...I told you. I’m not good at this stuff.” She gestures between her and Judy. “Was always so focused on merc work that I never really got to know someone out of the occasional one night stand. I don’t want that to happen to you.”

V inhales. “With us, I don’t want to be afraid the deeper I go. It’s like diving. It takes my breath away.” She runs her hands through her hair. “Sometimes, I just think I don’t want to be in love and—”

“You’re in love?” Judy asks quietly.

“I didn’t say that.”

“Heard you loud and clear.” Judy studies her, crossing her arms with her head slightly tilted. Her voice softens. “Are you really?”

Fuck.

Abort, abort, abort!

“You know, this drive out here and awkward conversation has been swell, and—”

“Siddown, V. You’re not running out of this one. Not when...” Judy meets her gaze. “...the feeling’s mutual.” 

Oh.

V feels winded at the words. “I should sit down.” She backs up until her knees hit the couch, and she plops down on the leather seat, staring blankly out the window. 

Judy follows her with a worried look on her face. “You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” V scrubs at her face before breaking out into nervous laughter. “Fuck, Judy. What do I say? How do you follow something like that up?”

Judy sits down next to her, laying a hand on V’s shoulder. “I have more than a few ideas.” She falters when V looks up. “Uh...if you want to.” 

“One track mind, huh? Reminds me of someone I know.” V snorts. She bites her lip, and she notes Judy’s eyes following her move. “Is there a warm-up? Do we just get into it?”

Judy glances at V’s face before sighing. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” She looks to the side. “Didn’t mean to force anything on you.”

“You definitely aren’t.” V studies Judy’s expression before turning to face her. “Think you’ve been looking forward to something a long time coming.”

Judy perks as V pulls her onto her lap and takes her hands to place them on V’s chest. “How about you set the pace?”

Watching her, Judy carefully takes one of V’s wrists and pins it over her head. “You tell me if you want to stop, okay?”

V’s eyes crinkle, and she presses a soft kiss to Judy’s mouth. “I trust you.” 

Judy stares before she grabs V’s face and dives in for a heated kiss—all tongue and lips and desperate desire. V can guess how dirty she can get when she really wants her. 

Running her fingers up V’s shirt, Judy sighs when she reaches her destination, spotting V arching up after her touch. “Try to last a minute at least.”

V swallows a moan. “Speak for yourself.” She brings up a thigh between Judy’s, and the latter jerks, grabbing onto V’s shoulders and squeezing her eyes shut. “Seems like you’re a lot closer than you let on.”

“Don’t play with fire.” Judy opens her eyes, a light in them like a solar storm, a sudden flare of heat that knocks the breath from V’s lungs. “Please, V. I can’t stand it anymore.”

“I get it.” V swallows. She pulls Judy’s hands down to her own belt, helping her to unbuckle it as Judy glances up sharply, studying her before nodding and undoing the leather herself. Judy’s hands shake as she strips it away, fingers dipping into the corner of V’s hips to push her jeans down.

Something rumbles overhead, catching V’s attention. She stops Judy, who nearly sobs, before cocking her head at what sounds like a helicopter flying overhead, blades spinning. She straightens up, feeling a tingle on her tongue like the rush before a firefight, the taste of iron that’ll linger in the air. “Oh, shit. What is—” 

Something crunches into the ground outside the cabin, like a massive weight falling from a tall height. The shockwave knocks Judy and V to the ground as V scrabbles to pull up her pants even as she grabs her pistol. She prefers to die with dignity, thank you very much. 

V spots an ominous red glow moving towards them through the window while Judy spins around, readying her gun and shouting, “Jesus Christ, for real? V, you’ve been cursed or something.”

“Judy, head into the bedroom and jump out of the window if you can. I’ll—”

Something blows a hole in the side of the cabin, sending V and Judy flying backwards into the couch, chips of wood blowing inward. A man steps through what used to be the wall—all eight feet of horrid machine and man amalgamation. He sneers at V, both sides of his mouth pulled horribly by his cyberware as he crashes towards them.

V shoves the couch over to serve as a shield, firing at the cybernetic nightmare. “Who the fuck are you?” 

“Adam Smasher.” He steps in and knocks Judy’s gun away from her so hard, it lodges into the wall. “Where the fuck is my cake?”

V pauses behind the couch, partway through reloading. “Your what?”

“My order.” He points one cannon arm towards her. “The one in the shape of meat as I requested.”

Seriously? It’s always fucking work.

Judy glances sidelong while V rapidly shakes her head. “Must...must have gotten lost.” She holds up a business card, coughing from all of the dust rising around them. “Call my partner. We’ll give you a 20% discount as an apology.”

Adam steps forward and growls, snatching the card. “You have abominable customer service. Three stars only!” He turns and climbs out of the cabin, the red light of his head visible even in the dark like an airship disappearing into the night.

When his footsteps die away, V glances over to where Judy sits on the upside-down couch, staring forward. Seething. “So...you’re going to need new latches.” When Judy doesn’t laugh, she sighs, “Guess the mood’s gone.”

“Yup.” Judy’s jaw tenses hard enough to crack steel. “I give up. I’m going to go join a fucking nunnery.” She stands, jamming her hands in her pockets and striding forward. She kicks an old phone hard enough that it shatters when it hits the wall. “See you, V.” 

That sounds bad. V stands, about to go after her when her phone rings. Sighing, she picks up when Johnny appears on her screen. “So, Arasaka—” 

V hurls the phone against the wall. 

When she gets it up and working again, cracked screen and all, she ends up spilling everything about the disaster of the night after she runs out and realizes Judy’s already gone. The ancient rustbucket is missing too.

Johnny hums. “So, Adam Smasher cockblocked you. It must be because of me that he did so.”

“Get over yourself, old man.” V scrubs a hand down her face. “What do I do with Judy?”

He shrugs. “Just fuck her. It’s what she’s begging for. Anywhere and anytime will do now.” Taking a long drag on his cigarette, he leans forward. “You know what chicks like? When you’re cold to them. They’ll walk away first and then come running back for more.”

V rolls her eyes. Johnny has an ex who dedicated a memorial to his music career. She is not taking romantic advice from him. 

“Besides,” he continues, “s’not like you have any time for her. Not with everything on your plate for work.”

“That’s not—” V pauses, thinking it over. Her jaw tenses. “Shit.” He's right. Gotta resolve this whole thing fast. “Okay, back to what you were saying that’s not Arasaka. You know, about distracting Lizzy with a weirder freak than her? I have an idea.”

It doesn’t take much to lure Smasher to the bakery—just the announcement that his order would be ready, much to the distress of Jackie who has no idea how to make a cake into that...particular shape.

“Seriously, V. What does that even look like?”

V shoves him into the kitchen. “Figure it out! You got less than two hours.” 

Jackie throws something together haphazardly as V ignores Lizzy telling her to clean the ovens and Adam Smasher shows up. He opens the bakery doors and walks through the top of their door frame, leaving the shape of his head behind in the wall. He could have bent down or something, but whatever.

Lizzy Wizzy glances up from where she’s torching the cash register into the counter to represent the tools of materialism melting away into the social structure that surrounds it or something like that. She notices Smasher standing in front of her and brushes away her long strands of bright red hair. “Who is this? You’re so...chaotic, like a dam breaking open, a cacophony of colours on a vandalized wall.”

Smasher gazes down at her, expression unreadable. “And you look like a fuckable cut of—” He stops, looking confused.

Jackie takes that moment to emerge, a white box in hand. “Here ya go, Mr. Smasher. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

Smasher rips the box from him before peeking inside and nodding. “Acceptable.” He turns as Jackie clears his throat. “What?”

“Just thought I should introduce you to the owner here.” Jackie gestures to Lizzy. “Lovely woman. Suddenly single after her boyfriend mysteriously died.”

“Yes, it was tragic,” Lizzy intones. “An accidental snapping of his neck while gardening. It was unpredictable.” She dutifully dabs at her eyes, though no tears appear. “I always did tell him to switch to cyberware.”

Adam studies her for a long time, leaning in as does Lizzy, and Jackie and V hold their breaths. Reaching out, his fingers graze her hair before he turns away, stomping out of the bakery. “Not enough meat.” 

V swears as Adam walks away, and Lizzy blinks as if waking. There goes their only plan. Sighing, she turns to Jackie. “How did you make that cake into something he’d...you know?”

Jackie gives her an odd look. “I shaped it like a chicken.”

Lizzy turns around and clears her throat. “The kitchen? Those ovens won’t clean themselves.” 

When V’s halfway through cursing out the grease stains on the bottom of the hidden bake tray, Johnny calls, asking how the plan went. “He went out with his order and gave us no tip. Bastard.”

“The fuck?” Johnny shouts, “You sold Adam fucking Smasher a cake? What did I tell you?”

“He kind of stalked me and threatened me to finish his order,” V replies ruefully.

“So? Everyone fucking stalks you. It’s how you make friends,” Johnny fires back. V looks over at Jackie who shrugs. “I told you I want nothing to do with him. You’re on your own. Good luck.” He disconnects, and V lets out a sigh of relief. If she had to deal with his old man bitching one more time…

Lizzy enters the kitchen, looking at her phone in puzzlement. “Someone mysteriously sold all of their stocks to me, giving me 100% ownership.” She shrugs. “So, we should talk about employee morale and how to raise customer service ratings. V, have you tried this thing called smiling?”

Fucking Johnny. She’ll kill him with her bare hands once she finishes cleaning the grease stains. 

When she leaves the bakery, Johnny seems to have disappeared so V calls Kerry later that night who finally responds to her texts. “Fucking V. I leave for two weeks, and you guys get yourself into this shit.”

He buys out everything from Lizzy Wizzy and includes a sweet collaboration project that has her eagerly selling her ownership, and Jackie and V sigh in relief. 

Until Kerry decides he wants to take a shot at being their boss.

“Nope. Not digging the broken spine theme in the decor.” He strolls around the interior of the bakery, enjoying himself. “How about a yacht? Ooh, what if it’s on fire? V, what would it cost to hire someone to draw an exploding one? C’mon, hurry up. What am I paying you for?”

V grits her teeth. “Fuck you.”

“Excuse me? What was that?”

She sighs, “Fuck you, sir.” 

“Better.” He struts around the counter, eyeing both Jackie’s and V’s clothes before rubbing his chin in thought. “I’m thinking about uniforms. Assless ones, like aprons.”

V looks confused. “But aprons are already assless.”

“But we’re going to make it especially so for you.”

“You don’t even swing that way!”

“Not for you.” Kerry winks at Jackie, who startles.

Jackie quickly leans over and whispers, “V, let’s retire.”

“Way ahead of you.” 

Jackie and V sell the rights to the bakery to a grumbling Kerry, who still rents it out to Lizzy Wizzy. She does something weird with it, judging by the locked doors and ominous glow out the windows. And the smell of something awful burning that comes from the ventilation system. Still, V settles with enough funds to take a break from working for a while.

Jackie immediately drives to drop V off in front of her output’s apartment. “You have it now, chica. Time. Give the poor girl a break. Ain’t no one going to bother you for a while.” He fistbumps her and heads off. V’s only option is to climb the stairs since Judy already spotted her from the window, and it’s too strange to suddenly run away.

Judy lets her in, and V blinks at the half-packed suitcase sitting in the middle of the hall. “Were you really going to run away to a nunnery?”

Sighing, Judy leans against the doorway of her room. “Evelyn convinced me not to. Said all the good ones were in the European Union, and they’re not taking immigrants.”

That’s reassuring that Judy still considers V a better option than trying to move to the European Union. 

“Anyway, what’s up, V?”

V rubs her nape. “Well, I’m unemployed now. Kerry bought us out, so I have some eddies to live on for a while.” She shrugs. “Figured I have time to myself to spend it with you. Uninterrupted. Just us.”

Judy eyes her. “Dunno. Your phone always gets in the way.”

“I know.” V holds up the device, turning it off. She tosses it to Judy. “Lock it up if you need to. Just want to be here for you now, since I wasn’t before.”

Judy looks up, expression softening, still holding onto V’s phone like she’s been given a piece of her heart. “Not going to do that, but I know you’re a workaholic. Meant a lot for you to do that.”

V knows. She’s breaking in sweat, thinking about how many messages Kerry’s going to leave on her voicemail. She owes him big time. “Think it’s worth it. You are, I mean.” She steps closer. “Wanna pick up from where we left off at the cabin?”

Judy smiles, kicking the suitcase aside as she steps forward. “Do you even have to ask?” She tugs V in by the collar to the bedroom. “We are making up for a lot of lost time.”

V grins, letting Judy haul her in. “Just let me know when I’ve hit your sweet spot.”

—

A few days later, Judy returns to work. She’s been smiling since the moment she enters Lizzie’s, and it’s been freaking out all of her coworkers. It’s in the ease of her movements, the way she laughs, the glow on her skin like a solar flare from space.

Rita whispers as she walks by, eyeing the bounce in Judy’s step, “Oh my god, V must fuck like a god of war.” She calls out, chasing after her. “Hey, Judy! Wait up!”

Judy stops, halfway to the back rooms. She hums while patiently waiting, and Rita’s a little spooked by how much she’s fucking glowing, like she spent a summer at the beach or something. Rita stops in front of her, looking her over. “Feeling good?”

“Never been better.” Judy tucks her hands into her pockets, still smiling. “Finally got to blow off some steam.”

“Yeah, I bet you did.” Rita smirks. “Maybe I should get a special cake delivered by V. Might get a look like yours.”

Judy doesn’t stop grinning. “If you do, I’ll kill you where you stand.” She turns and waves without looking back. “See ya.”

She leaves Rita speechless as she heads down to her workroom, greeting dolls and fellow gang members who stare as she breezes past them, whistling something she heard V hum the other day.

There’s a stack of BDs waiting on her desk that would take her all day to finish, but Judy gets to it without a complaint, whizzing through them with a relentless cheer.

Even when she gets interrupted close to the end of her shift, she still can’t seem to care. 

Susie bears down on her like a mother tiger, only to pause at Judy’s workroom, eyeing her blissful smile suspiciously. “The fuck are you on?”

Judy shrugs. “The only one for me.” She leans forward. “Whatcha got for me, Suse?”

Off-balance, Susie straightens, baring her teeth again though she looks confused. “These joytoys you keep rescuing. We don’t got the budget to cover their asses. Stop telling them to come here. We’re not a fucking charity.”

Judy hums as she quickly sketches a picture of V on a sheet of paper behind her screen. V sleeps with her mouth open, and she just needs to shade in dark spots correctly…

“Are you listening, Alvarez?”

“Absolutely. You got a point, Suse. Lizzie’s isn’t equipped to help these girls get back on their feet. I’ll dig through my contacts to see if someone else can help them. Sorry about the mess,” Judy says absentmindedly, sketching out V’s eyebrows.

Susie opens and closes her mouth. She wanders away from the room with a dazed expression, passing by Evelyn while mouthing, “The fuck?”

Evelyn raises an eyebrow as she leans against Judy’s doorway. “What did you say to leave Susie speechless?”

“Said she was right. And I don’t give a fuck.” She leans back, glancing up and grinning so brightly that Evelyn winces.

“I knew you needed to get laid, but I didn’t think it was this bad. What did V do to you?”

Judy leans back in her chair, running a hand through her hair dreamily. “S’not just that. Also was what she let me do to her.”

“Wait.” Evelyn closes the door before turning to face Judy, a sly smile on her face. “Now, tell me everything.”

Across Watson that same morning, V blinks awake as her phone rings, rolling over to grab it from the nearby nightstand. “Hello?”

Panam appears on the screen. “Hey V, I’m at the bakery, and where the fuck’s my job?” She squints. “Why are you naked?”

“Uh…” V pulls up the blanket to cover her chest as she looks around, noting the electropunk poster and the scuba gear in a box in the corner. “Think I’m at Judy’s place. Don’t know how long I’ve been here.” She kind of lost track of the days.

Panam’s nose wrinkles. “I’m glad you finally did the poor girl, but there’s more to life than sex. Like finding a new gig! Any ideas?”

V sighs. She’s sore. Really sore. She sits up and immediately winces. Gonna need some ice. “Nothing so far.”

“Okay, well, I got some. Meet me at Afterlife in an hour?”

“Thought you weren’t allowed to show your face there anymore.”

“Rogue doesn’t scare me. Plus, I heard her ex showed up there, and she’s bringing some fire.”

V opens her mouth before smiling. She’s gotta show up for this train wreck. “Right. See you soon.”

She hangs up before texting Jackie, inviting him to the inevitable blowout at Afterlife before she gets up to shower. Whistling, she leaves a short scrawl of a note on Judy’s desk before heading to prepare for the day, limping slightly.

It’s nice to have a normal day for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Johnny’s poem is my favourite bit of the chapter.


End file.
